Time for Lent

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. If I wasn't in a country where the Christian faith was illegal, we would've appreciated this day in church and with a cross of ashes on our foreheads. To understand Ash Wednesday, please view what a dear friend, Jeanette, had to write about it on her FB page:

Ash Wednesday, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days (40 days not counting Sundays) before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter. It can occur as early as February 4 (February 5 on leap years) or as late as March 10.

Ash Wednesday derives its name from the practice of placing ashes on the foreheads of worshippers as a sign of mourning and repentance to God. The ashes used are typically gathered after the palms or Palm Crosses from the previous year's Palm Sunday are burned. 

This practice is common in much of Christendom, being celebrated by Catholics, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans.

As the first day of Lent, Ash Wednesday comes the day after Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday), the last day of the Carnival season.

In Victorian England, theatres refrained from presenting costumed shows on Ash Wednesday.

HE will swallow up death forever

"And the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, And the reproach of His people He will take away from all the earth, For the Lord has spoken." Isaiah 25:8

Lent is a time of prayerful and penitential reflection as our attention is focused on the sufferings and death of our savior Jesus Christ.

Each year I look forward to taking part in Lent. As a child growing up in a Lutheran church, I  remember early on giving something up each Lent, as a way of drawing our attention to this time in the church calendar. I always gave things up like bubble gum, chocolate, or biting my nails! I know I didn't fully understand why I was making this "sacrifice" but either way I was excited to be involved in this event each year (and actually looked forward to the challenge)! 

As an adult, I do view Lent in a different light. I understand the significance in my small "sacrifice", though it doesn't compare to the sacrifice made by Christ all those years ago! 40 days of prayer in the desert doesn't compare to eating foods free of animal-products for 40 days (in the comfort of my home and access to a range of alternative food products)! While I do think this will be a challenge, as I love my cheese, yogurt, milk and fish, I know it will encourage me to draw my attention, thoughts and prayers, to Christ's ultimate sacrifice and victory (for me and you)!