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Well this is going to be just a bit different. I grew up with Catholic kids who gave up various things to observe Lent. Usually it was candy or gum. No church I've ever been in observed Lent so I've never experienced it myself.

Until now.

I started back on March 5th and let me tell you, there've been at least 2 times where I came thisclose to slipping up, started trying to bargain my way out of it (No one will know. A month is good enough.) but managed to put the brakes on and stop myself. It's harder than I imagined it would be that is for sure! I've developed a new found respect for the dedication of Catholic folk who observe Lent. It really does take a lot of will power not to cave to temptation.

I recalled this scripture both times:

There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13

On March 5th I joined a boycott and gave up Target.

Have you ever observed Lent? What did you give up? Was it hard for you, too?

I gave up church for Lent.

It made me feel so good, I kept it going ever since.

ETA: (It just occurred to me that I actually did stop attending church one April in the mid 80's).

We were a Lent-observing family, Jersey Girl, but we really only tried abstaining from some particularly tasty food item. That’s always the easy option for kids.

For years I would give up alcohol for Lent. I think in some earlier years I would use the “all Sundays are feast days even in Lent” cheat to have a couple of beers on Sundays but I mostly went the whole 40 days plus Holy Week. It wasn’t so hard, especially after I found a non-alcoholic beer that I like.

I stopped this a couple of years ago now after our older daughter got me doing Dry January. Lent comes pretty soon after January, and I decided that if I was going to do two dry months in the year then they should be more evenly spaced. So lately I’ve been doing dry January and July, and nothing particular for Lent.

The result is that I don’t even notice Lent, and I miss the sense of progress in this time of year. Lent usually falls between our teaching semesters here, so the time is less structured and often goes by in a blur. I should maybe start doing something for Lent again. It should be something worth doing, because I don’t think I need any pointless austerities, but not something so worth doing that I should just be doing it all the time. Hmmm.