Lent for Life

Image: David Castillo Dominici / freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3062

I was whining to my mother the other day, “I really sucked at Lent this year.”

After I took a harder look at the commitments I had made and how I had been doing, I realized I was perhaps being overly critical – which is common when Achiever and Maximizer are in your ‘Top Five’ strengths.

Even so, I couldn’t shake a woe-is-me feeling about Lent. Then it struck me; in year’s past I had given up things. I would go 40 days without beer or pizza (no small act of will) as a testament to my love of God and a desire to grow closer to Him. This year I had focused less on sacrifice and more on behaviors and actions that I hoped would become habitual, like praying the rosary or seeking to see Jesus in others.

Historically I was accustomed to a jolt of energy in the last week of Lent. A feeling much like nearing the end of a laborious workout. But building habits doesn’t have a finish line. And when one of your Lenten goals is to dissolve pride, a cry-baby ego asking for a pat on the back was proof that I would need much more than just another week to make good on what I’ve promised God.

So while I’ve been able to enjoy pizza and beer, it appears I’m taking the extended Lent course. And my ego will have to do without the high five, because Lent (and Life) simply isn’t about me.