Ash Wednesday

Lent is an ancient church observance, like Advent, starting 40 days before Easter on a day known as Ash Wednesday. Some people observe Lent, some have never heard of Lent, and some write it off as “a Catholic thing.” As a Protestant and observer of Lent, I encourage every Christian who hasn’t observed Ash Wednesday before to take a second look. 

Lent is a time of quieting your heart, reflecting on the realities of death and suffering, intentionally doing good, and giving up something that you will miss strongly enough that it’s never far from your thoughts. In a culture of consumerism, we’re not used to giving up anything (it’s one of my biggest struggles), so intentionally depriving ourselves of a luxury and filling ourselves with prayer and God’s word is a harder discipline than I’d like to admit.

I’ll tell you what, though, nothing focuses your thoughts like praying every time you think about chocolate, Facebook, video games, snack food, or whatever you’ve chosen to give up. And this small sacrifice reminds us of where our focus should be constantly, no matter what time of the year.