This morning as I made some Paleo (ish) banana pancakes for the kids (no meat today!), we chatted on the meaning of Ash Wednesday and the 40 days of Lent.
As I explained why ppl give things up like candy, sweets, and other indulgences until Easter, I wanted to really drive home that the idea wasn’t to pick something that was unattainable, but rather something that would cause us to think on Christ and the love He had for us + the 40 days He fasted in the desert. I told my kids what I was giving up and how I was going to do my best but also be gentle with myself rather than expecting perfection. My 6 yr old daughter replied, “that’s a good plan, Mama.” 💜
If I’m honest, I’m all too familiar with the concept of being hard on myself during Lent, but if these years of being a mom while also working heavily in ministry with my husband have taught me anything, it’s that balance and mercy is also required of us – even towards ourselves. We may be living in survival mode more often than we’d like, but God can still find us there, and we can still give Him what little we feel we have to offer. He’ll still take it. 💜
Whether you attended services in person or virtually, and whether your ashes were drawn on your forehead in the shape of a cross or sprinkled on today (which I found out is the way it’s traditionally done in Rome!), I hope your Ash Wednesday is a beautiful and holy beginning to a fruitful Lent. Also, this is a reminder that you don’t have to be overwhelmed if your Lent doesn’t feel perfectly planned or ideal. Let’s embrace where we’re at today and meet God starting here and now. 💜
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{this post first appeared on www.instagram.com/alleluiaisoursongblog on 2/17/21}
P.S. In case you might not have been able to attend in-person Mass, I wanted to share the Mass that my husband Matt and I sang together on Ash Wednesday. Before covid we used to sing together all the time, but it’s been awhile and it was such a beautiful treat to have him sing with me while my parents watched the kids at home. <3
Mass begins at about 10:50 minutes in.
Love and blessings to you and yours this Lent,
