The season of Lent is here!

Isn't it something how fast time goes when you are enjoying what you are doing?  We drove to Arkansas for a volleyball tournament yesterday.  It was fun to watch the girls improving their skills and having fun when they won games.  (They won 1st in their pool bracket and then lost the first game of the Gold Bracket play. ...3 weeks ago, I would not have had a CLUE what that meant...so, in a nutshell, they kicked some bootie in the pool play and then got bootie kicked out of the bracket play. No bling/medals brought home by the team this weekend.)  After the tournament was over, we met friends in Bentonville for dinner.  We don't see these friends very often and it just happened that they were going to be available for dinner...so a perfect meal with much needed catching up was had!  It was a terrific ending to a very fun day. 

One thing I've noticed about time is....when your activity is not so enjoyable, the time does NOT fly past.  For example, while waiting your turn for the dentist or THE dreaded annual exam, time freezes and every second on the clock ticks slower and slower.  So...here's the problem.  I am a little concerned about how fast or slow the next several weeks will go........  I gave up chocolate for Lent.  Now, for those who do not know me, I love chocolate so much that I would install a chocolate fountain as a permanant fixture in my dream home.  It would flow with beautiful smooth chococlate 24/7.  I would be able to cover fruit... cookies... candies....cakes... cupcakes... bacon... my spoon... whatever I wanted whenever I wanted.  I have a chocolate stash at school.  I have a chocolate stash at home.  (I hide my favorites from those I love.)   My point is....I LOOOOVE chocolate.  I am not Catholic,  but in my understanding or perception of Lent is this... Lent is a season in which to be closer to God.  The idea is to give up something you love/use/abuse  in order to build a closer relationship with God. You sacrifice something, and add something.  For me, this means adding more time praying more thoughtfully and more purposefully.  I can lean on God and pray that He will guide me and give me strength to get through the day  or even the hour without drinking a diet Coke or reading facebook or...in this year's fast......eating chocolate.  Correct me if I am wrong here, but this is a beautiful thing!  I quit eating chocolate.  I pray-- asking God to help me not be tempted and to soothe my soul with his love and grace.  I build a closer relationship because I am talking to him MORE throughout the day rather than just at a time that is set aside for prayer.  HA!  Genious.  God is Good.  Whether he established the Lent season as it is known or not.... He knew that we would need a season to draw nearer to Him.  He knew that we would suffer and struggle wtih things in this earthly life.  I believe that Lent can be used as a practice run for getting through the big things in our lives like cancer, financial hardships, loss of work, loss of a friend or a relative, those things that cause us to doubt His presence and His blessings in our lives.  Even if I'm not right on the purpose of Lent, I am still participating.  I will continue to pray and ask for strength.  I will continue to talk to him throughout the day.  
    
So, the first 4 days have not been bad.  Easter Sunday is not so far away, right?  I can do it. I just hope that the closer walk with God will be the fun part and that it will mask the ticking of the second hands while I await my next encounter with that smooth, creamy  piece of chocolate during the Holy weekend.  A closer, more intense walk with my Heavenly Father will be the reward, and it will be delicious!

"I Can Do All Things Through Christ Who Strengthens Me"

Philippians 4:13