Quadragesima: The Long 40 Days of Spring

Right now, we're on Day 12 of the 40-day journey known as Lent. Growing up, all I knew about Lent was that my middle-school friend Jessica wasn't allowed to eat meat on Friday, but I really had no clue why. Over the past five years or so, Eric and I have learned a bit more, and have even started practicing the tradition, thanks to our current church, which observes the traditional liturgical calendar.

For those of you who don't know, Lent is a 40-day season (not including Sundays) before Easter, during which we take time to recognize our sinfulness and our need for God's mercy. Traditionally, this is done through prayer, fasting, and giving of alms; however, today's observations often include both a "giving up" of something not sinful and a "taking on" of something beneficial. The whole party is kicked off by Ash Wednesday, a day where the symbolisms of ash (death, mourning, a reminder that we are dust) are worn on our foreheads in the shape of a cross. One key component to observing Lent is that of community support - it's not meant to be done alone and in secret, especially if the actions one is giving up and taking on are difficult. The need for encouragement and motivation from other believers is a huge part of recognizing our insufficiencies and learning to rely on Christ's power in our lives. From Ash Wednesday on, we're in this thing together.

We've found that by practicing Lent, Easter is all the more exciting and appreciated. Internalizing the fact that Christ died for the very sins that weigh us down and separate us from Him makes Good Friday all the more powerful. And after spending 7 and 1/2 weeks being reminded of our sin, the joyous celebration of Easter is that much more meaningful and breathtaking, inciting even greater gratitude.

This year for Lent, our family is giving up watching TV while we eat and taking on doing family devotions at both breakfast and dinner each day. So technically, we're "fasting" from sitting in front of the TV during mealtimes and incorporating prayer into our lives in a greater capacity. So far, it's been really nice. There have been evenings where we're feeling kind of tired and just want to plop down on the couch while eating dinner, but choosing to sit at the table together and read from God's Word has been so enriching and unifying. Hopefully, we're forming better habits that will help to stabilize our family in the future.

What is your background with Lent? If you're observing it this year, what are you doing and how are you being held accountable?

* Fun fact: Quadragesima is Latin for "the fortieth day," and is one traditional name for Lent, while "lent" is derived from the German for "spring" and "long"...because the days get longer in the spring.