It is hard to believe the season of lent is here. A season I have grown to love, respect, and even crave. I started practicing Lent about 10 years ago during my last years in college. I loved the idea of laying something that I loved down as a sacrifice to better the inner parts of my heart. It’s a calling to be more, to serve more, and to love more.
But this year. This year took me by surprise. I often find myself preparing, planning, and getting ready for the season. Yesterday was the first time I processed that today was the start of Lent. I have been working on taking some things out of my life and putting in healthier practices over the last few weeks so I wasn’t as overwhelmed to decide on what I wanted to focus on during this season.
Where I am in my current season of life, I recognize the lack of relationships and my need for community. In order to build this community I must come out of my comfort of isolation and be more intentional about nurturing the relationships I have already cultivated. To pick up spending time with others and to challenge myself to leave the house more often. It is just too easy to stay home and swept up in my current surroundings. This needs to change. For my heart, for my relationships, and for me. When you spend time with others you expose yourself to their lives and you see the value in their journey instead of getting caught up in your own. We need people. We need relationships.
I am laying down negative self-talk and replacing it with positive relationships. Where I get caught up in me, I want to get caught up in others. Sometimes it is easy to see only what is in front of us and that can rob us of the joy of those around us. I believe that you cannot give without receiving and you cannot receive without giving. I want to better myself to be a better friend, wife, and mother. I want to spend time with friends to show them I value them, to give them more of me and in return they give more of them. It is raises the tides of both ships. Adding value to others all while they add value to you.
I believe what I surround myself with I become.
So this Lenten season I am seeking out a better me. I love the challenge to be more and that starts with the voices in my head and heart.