I’m having a really hard time believing March is here. Especially because there is a whole lot more white fluff predicted this weekend than there has been for the whole of winter (#northeast).
This week marks the beginning of the Lent season, starting with Ash Wednesday on March 6th. Lent is the Christian holiday of preparation for Easter Sunday and runs the six and a half weeks leading up to Easter Sunday. It is a 40 day fast for Christians in imitation of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. Typically Christians will give something up for the weeks leading up to Easter (i.e. sweets, TV shows, etc.) or some will choose to add something into their schedule (i.e. daily devotional time).
You may be religious and/or you may identify with a different religion, or none at all, but I think Ash Wednesday, and the start of March, can act as an important time marker for the calendar year, regardless of your religious background.
We are reaching the quarter point of 2019 and its a good time to check in on our 2019 resolutions, “be” and otherwise, and see how we are doing. How have you seen growth, a plateau, a regression? Have you had to reevaluate your goals, let any go, redefine, or recreate? Maybe you started creating resolutions and didn’t finish?
I would encourage you to view this time point as an opportunity to reflect on what 2019 has been so far and what you desire it to be. Use this time to reflect on what has been working and what changes might need to be made in order to move closer to seeing resolutions come into fruition. Even if it’s something as simple (although easier said than done), to be more organized, you’ll want to evaluate how it’s been going and what might need to happen to help it go better. Do you need to set aside more time on Sunday to prepare for the week? Do you need to give up your weekend TV binge so you can spend more time recollecting from the past week and preparing for the next?
I do want to be careful not to minimize Ash Wednesday and Lent. If you are Christian, this is an important upcoming season and I would encourage you to take some time to reflect. I would encourage you to think about Lent not as “what do I have to give up?” but rather “what will help me grow in my faith?” That’s what the 40 day fast was for, Jesus preparing for the ministry to come. Let’s think likewise. What can I do (either give up or add) to help me grow in my faith and prepare for whatever ministry I’ve been set for?
Regardless if you’re using this time to check in on your goals and/or on how you can grow in your faith (I know I’ll be doing both as I believe they’re integrated), let’s be mindful and not wait until October to check in on how we’re doing because at that point we’d only have 2 months left to squeeze it all in (spoiler, it doesn’t go so well then).
How are you doing so far in 2019? What have been challenges, what have been victories?