Lent started yesterday...

Yesterday was Wednesday, February 22nd and the beginning of Lent. You may say, but you are not Catholic...what does is it matter to you? Well, here it is--I am trying to be a part of my community at church and to take part in a Lenten challenge. Each day throughout the 40 days we have been asked to give up something different every day. It's not really giving up something each day but doing something different--something to make us get out of our box, I think. It's a way of dying to self. Doing and being something different.

So for the next 40 days, I have committed to blogging my reflections on the previous days directive. This in itself is a way for me me to do something different because I have a hard time staying committed to writing--discipline is also not my strong suit:)

So, yesterday's "assignment" was to participate in Ash Wednesday by getting ashes put on our forehead. Let me say right away that I did not do it. You may wonder what I might have to say since I didn't complete the task but actually I have been thinking about it a lot and have some observations.

1. I was uncomfortable going to a different church-ego

2. I didn't want to drag my children with me-excuse, my oldest could have watched them.

3. I wondered about how the Catholics would feel about a non catholic taking in part--just looked it up and it is not a sacrament so anyone is welcome--ego

4. It was inconvenient-excuse, again

5. This is the biggest and saddest of all--I would have been embarrassed having people look at me--EGO!!! And might I say, Satan.

What I realized and let take hold of me causing me not to take part in the very first day of our challenge is I am very prideful. This would have been a perfect opportunity to have part of my ego(self) die. I allowed Satan to talk me out of something that would have allowed him LESS of a hold on my life. One of my biggest obstacles, character defects, if you will, is being egotistical. I am way too much the center of my own life. And I think you think about me a bunch too.

Here's the thing--I am not the center of the universe. Other people barely notice me. Isn't Jesus much more important than what other people would think of me if I had ashes on my forehead? What a witness I could have been for the Christian faith! What an example I could have been for others feeling the same way I was!

So here I sit committed to following the rest of the directives in order to die to self and live for Christ. God sacrificed His Son for me and in return I want to sacrifice my ego and self to Him. I am excited! Stay tuned to see what happens!