***psst – don’t miss the end of the post where you can snag FREE Lent resources for you and your family!

for as long as i can remember, my family has honored the 40 days leading up to Easter…in other words, i grew up with Lent. but what does Lent really mean?

truthfully, i have to look it up again every year. this is partly because my reasons for “needing” Lent change from year to year, season to season. it is also because it is so easy to revert back to my elementary understanding that Lent is just a time when you “give something up because it’s good for you.”

for years, that’s kind of what i thought. on the surface, i knew i was giving something up so that on a very TINY scale i could mirror Christ’s sacrifice for us. but as i said no to chocolate for 40 days, i rarely thought of Jesus. i mostly just thought that i wanted chocolate. additionally, there was always the lingering question of whether giving up chocolate was really doing something? because how can giving up chocolate {or anything} even BEGIN to compare to Jesus giving up His life?

the answer is, it can’t. as moms {or humans}, we can never-ever-in-a-billion-years-with-any-kind-of-act-or-deed pay Jesus back for his ultimate sacrifice. nor can we make it up to God for giving up His only son.

it’s was hard to be ok with {or even understand} that uneven balance until i started to think about it like this…

i make a thousand sacrifices a day for my kids. we all do. we give up time, sanity, self-care, hygiene, SLEEP, dreams, goals, plans, money, our very bodies even…for our kids. most days, these sacrifices go completely unnoticed. no one repays them. and the next day, we do the mom thing all over again. with love.

but then there are those moments {dare i say days?} when we receive small whispered i love you’s, someone does their chores without complaining, or eats vegetables, or has an entire conversation with you without asking for something. maybe you discover a hand-written note on your pillow or someone impulsively proclaims you’re the best mom in the world.

those TINY little offerings in no way match the sacrifices we make as moms. but don’t they make it all feel a little lighter? a little more worth it? it will NEVER be even. but it can be something.

as a mom who still has a lifetime of growing and learning to do in faith, this is my current view of Lent. Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter when i can do something. Jesus doesn’t need it to match His sacrifice. He’s not asking for it at all. but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.

alright then, so what is Lent?

Lent is the 40 days leading up to Easter. this year {2020} it begins on february 26th {Ash Wednesday} and ends on april 12th {Easter Sunday}.

what is the purpose of Lent?

Lent is a penitential season, which means it is an opportunity to reflect on your life, offer up your challenges, obstacles, and struggles to God, and ask Him to show you ways you can grow and become better for yourself, your family, your friends, and Him.

why is Lent 40 days?

Lent is 40 days to commemorate the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert {according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke}. His time in the desert was before Jesus began his public ministry.

what should i do for Lent?

start by asking God. then listen. really listen. listen through opportunities placed in front of you. listen through other people. listen through books, blogs, podcasts. listen through church, Bible studies, book groups, and small groups. listen in absolute silence, even if only for a minute. open your life for 40 days to looking for God.

maybe He’ll guide you to develop new, more productive habits. or perhaps to get rid of habits or routines that are in the way of your progress. sometimes it isn’t until we STOP doing something that space opens up for a new, more life-giving opportunity.

maybe you need to spend more time with God and less time on something else.

maybe you won’t hear Him yet and you’ll just have to do the next good/hard/right thing and look for Him along the way.

best question to ask yourself? how can you become a better person, mom, wife, friend, sister, daugher, and community member? then, do it and ask for His help and guidance.

what to most people do for Lent?

traditionally, during Lent there is a strong focus on prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.

prayer is simply talking to God. this can be done in a more disciplined way – waking every morning at 6, reciting memorized prayers, following a plan, devotional, or Bible study. or prayer can take place amidst your regular day – in the car on the way to soccer, as you get yourself ready for work, as whispers during challenging times. prayer can take many forms – petition, intercession, adoration, thanksgiving – and is central to the Christian faith.

fasting is a spiritual exercise and means going without a certain food for a certain amount of time. the purpose is inner growth – drawing nearer to God and opening our hearts to receive His blessings. going without food is a tangible feeling of longing for something, of dependance on something for health and survival. in a world where we are made to feel like “we got this,” it is a reminder that there are more important things in life than _________ and God can show us the way to those new priorities.

almsgiving is giving to those who are in need. this can be in the form of time, talent, or treasure. during Lent, Christians are asked to reflect on where they can fill in the gaps of need in their families, neighborhoods, communities, and the greater world. even the smallest of acts go a long way.

if you’re still deciding what to do for Lent this year, i’d like to invite you to join me for this year’s PRACTICING PRESENCE | 40 days of embracing the moment…

a few years ago, determined to get the most out of Lent, i invited readers to join me in 40 days of gratitude. it was so much fun, the next year we switched it up to a new theme – 40 days of love – and a larger group participated. last year, even more women joined in for 40 days of joy in your ordinary, and THIS YEAR over 1000 families have already signed up for their FREE PRACTICING PRESENCE Lent resources. 

i can’t wait.

you can SIGN UP to grab your FREE resources and spend 40 days embracing the moment with God HERE. when you sign up, you’ll gain instant access to Free Lent materials for your whole family AND a link to sign up for our private facebook group where we can learn from and encourage each other!

**the information in this post references a Dynamic Catholic article for its broad range of easy-to-understand facts. it is IMPORTANT to note, Lent is not an exclusively Catholic practice. Lent is an opportunity for ALL CHRISTIANS to find ways to bring more Jesus into their regular days, to reflect on habits and routines keeping us from spending more time with God, and to grow in our faith TOGETHER. if you’d like to check out the article, you can find it here at DynamicCatholic.com.