The Joy of Lent

I belong to a liturgical church. We divide each year into liturgical seasons. A new season, Lent, began this week on Ash Wednesday.

The season of Lent is not often considered a time of great joy. Lent is a season of preparation and anticipation for Easter, which tends to be more joyful. Lent is more about letting go of distractions and bad habits. People give something up for Lent, feeling sorry or guilty for shallowness or dependencies. Lent is a season of dark colors and heavy thoughts.

A season that begins with ashes on our foreheads can tend to feel a little bleak.

I do not believe Lent is about feeling bad. We need time to prepare, time to get ready. Part of getting ready for the drama of new life and resurrection is recognizing where we are. We remember how we got here, acknowledging where changes need to be made.

Lent is a time for admitting we are not perfect. We do things we regret, we are not the people we have the potential to become. We are not beating ourselves up, we are being realistic.

There are people and situations we wish we had handled differently. We could be better, deeper, more healthy. The joy of Lent does not come from having such great answers or being so close to perfect. The joy of Lent is having another chance.

Lent is an opportunity to pause, reflect, and experience the truth of ourselves. We take a breath, appreciate how it feels to be alive, and apologize for not being all we could be. We ask for help. We ask for forgiveness. We offer help and forgiveness.

We begin to feel the joy of Lent.

What helps you recognize joy this week?

How does joy feel to you?

[Image by @jbtaylor]