Simplicity

This week is the beginning of Lent and also Valentine's day which strikes me as a very interesting combination. As Easter is so early this year, it's hypothetically possible that you can stop eating chocolate before receiving a box of them... 

Generalisations aside, and this year I've been thinking a little about how to do Lent differently. Yes, it's probably true that I'm trying to dodge the pain that comes with sacrificing favourite foods, or worse, the suggestion that I should stop drinking caffeine. However, I think it's also related to the fact that not eating cake for 40 days makes me feel good, but not in a way that Lent is intended for.

Let's go back to basics and Lent is a period which strives to replicate Jesus's fasting in the desert. He wasn't just giving up cake, but food altogether. It's difficult to understand what true hunger is, and I don't think that my efforts in the past have even remotely replicated that sort of discomfort. Lent is also traditionally a time of preparation before Easter which culminates with Good Friday and Easter Sunday; the centre of the Christian calendar. It's a time of prayer and spiritual focus. 

I've recognised that my Lent efforts are often focused on the fasting side, but never really on the spiritual stuff. This year then, I've decided on a combination which for me, will be challenging. I'm foregoing my afternoon snack for Bible study. A study on the life of Jesus, in fact. 

This may appear remarkably simple, but I'm recognising that it's something that I often overlook as a Christian; the simplicity of reading the heart of the Bible and actually taking in what it says. 

Simplicity is often considered the easy thing to do, but it's often the simple things that we overlook that are most important. And so this week is starting with the basics. I disagree with this week's definition, but hopefully by the end of Lent, Bible study will be something I find a bit simpler. 

Happily, this also means I can get together with my family on Valentine's Day (it's a day with the people you love, after all) and consume afternoon tea without having to forego the cake. 

"Simplicity: the quality or condition of being easy to understand or do."


Another exciting Lent resource can be found here:
http://www.christianaidcollective.org/resources/count-your-blessings