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Giving up _____________ for Lent


The Lenten Season is upon us.  I feel so sorry for the people that decided to give up chocolate and then Valentines Day be the very next day!  YIKES!  This year for lent I was thinking about what to give up.  What is something that will bring me closer to God?  What is something that takes me away from His presence that instead of focusing on it, I can focus on God.  God spoke to me though my red-headed four-year-old yesterday.  It is amazing how often times, He speaks through children.

A few weeks ago, I scored some major deals at an amazing sale, while there, I bought gifts that I could give to our girls as valentines.  My youngest daughter has been asking for a tea set and my oldest for a drum set.  YES, a DRUM SET for a 4 year old.  Finding both of them at the sale, I purchased them and waited with anticipation for Valentines day to arrive.  What I expected was to hear giggles and shrieks of joy, but instead I heard, but I wanted this kind instead… 

Neither of us had our expectations met.  Often times, I find myself putting so much stock into what I expect will happen instead of just doing it to the best of my ability to glorify God.  I work so hard at something and expect it to be this amazing thing, but then nothing amazing follows it.  It is so frustrating because often times, I let myself get so down about this.  In reality though, I need to still do my best at everything that I do, but not for the response that I am going to be getting from that other person, but instead, I need to do it for the Lord. 

About 11 years ago, 2 different friends stood me up for my birthday, from that day on; I have started a birthday tradition of eating Chinese food and watching old movies.  It is something that I know that I want to do, and I don’t have to expect anyone to do anything on top of that.  I am then not upset because a big fuss wasn’t made about me, but instead, I am content knowing that I am doing exactly what I want to be doing. 

So this year for Lent, I am giving up expectations of other people.  I am not going to expect them to read my mind, to know exactly the response I am looking for, to know when I need a pick-me-up…  instead, when I feel those tendencies coming, I am going to look to the Lord instead.  Look to Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross instead of looking to myself and the sacrifices that I make on earth because they are nothing compared to what He has done for me.   
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