lent...

this week i've have had multiple conversations with friends that are "participating" in lent (i'm not sure what the proper term is) mostly because they are struggling with their certain "sacrifice. one friend mentioned to me that she knew of someone that was giving up reading for lent because reading was very important to her and this struck me as pretty odd because i could use a little more reading in my life.  and then i got to thinking about why is it that it always seems that lent involves bad things.  almost like it's a way to try and get rid of a vice.  break a habit if you will. 

and i'm just wondering...are we short changing the experience.  granted i've not participated in lent for a few years and have no real knowledge of how it "should" be done...so take it for what it's worth. 

i have a blog that i read every so often by a nun and i thought it might be a good source of info on lent...this was her post from last year.  here's a snippet.

It (Ash Wednesday and Lent) is a time of preparation, a time of freeing ourselves from the things that bind us and moving into a deeper relationship with God, our family and friends, and the Church community.

i think i have decided to avoid the giving up of things this year...or at least not beat myself up for not doing it...but i am going to make an effort to free myself from some things that bind me and keep me from looking for god.   i'm going to spend more time developing and deepening relationships with those around me.  i think i'm just going to try a little harder to be a christian. 

i found another statement on the said blog that made me stop and think.

Surrender is allowing God to embrace us fully.

maybe it doesn't have as much to do with my actions as much as it does with accepting the actions of others.