Well we've made it through the first few days of Lent, so I thought I should write a few reflections about the journey so far.
Day 1: Pray for your enemies.
We realized that in our experience, we aren't really sure we have true "enemies" per se. Of course, there are people with whom which we disagree, people we don't like much, or just people who annoy us but enemies? We are working to really dig in deep and understand just what that means for us today. Matt prayed for the drug dealers that continue to show up at Reconciler and prey upon addicts working to recover--I'd say that's a pretty good parallel. I prayed for those folks with whom I disagree--like on the big issues--LGBT inclusion for instance--most days they seem to be my biggest enemies.
Day 2: No TV.
We've done this before but it was good to bring it back. The worst part of it really was only upon climbing in bed. I'm one who likes to keep the TV on to fall asleep but it was also kind of nice to climb into a dark and quiet room for one night. I'm sure Matt loved it the most! We will definitely be working to keep this one around. It's always nice to enjoy a TV-free day/night.
Day 3: Don't turn on the car radio.
It was so. quiet. Matt said he didn't mind it much but I think I tried to call every member of my family when I headed out for errands :) I did force myself to drive home from a church event that night in silence. It was kind of nice after having been surrounded by 100 hyped up teenagers! This is a good practice but probably not my favorite.
Day 4: Give $20 to a non-profit of your choosing.
This was no problem for us. We are regular givers at our respective churches BUT that's not who I chose to give to this time around. It was nice to branch out and think about what other organizations are important to me and where we want our money to be given.
So we survived the first few days and already feel like we are learning more about new ways to practice devotion in our daily lives. Here's to the new week......
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