A personal history of Lenting

I'm not an experienced observer of Lent. In fact, I've never formally done it with a local church, going through all the motions and  adhering to all the observances. I've only been at it a couple of times, mostly with a handful of friends or maybe with just Mel (my wife). So I'm probably doing it wrongish, which is ok I think. I haven't heard about a big rule-book somewhere secret. It has always proved to be an enriching journey. So here we go again. Please use the blog to share your thoughts and comments too.

The first time Mel & I did a Lent fast, we didn't actually even know about Lent. We just felt to do a partial 40 day fast which happened to fall over the same period as Lent. We did a "bitter-sweet" fast (the brainchild of a mutual friend). It basically translates into eating nothing sweet (in order to seek sweetness in another Source), and not saying any bitter words (not saying negative things about other people, even if completely justified). It turned out that the 2nd part of the fast was by far the hardest, and the sweet one was hard enough.

The way to approach the whole concept of fasting is important - make-or-break for me. We're not fasting to achieve some level of spiritual maturity, or to prove something to anyone, or for health, or to be a good Christian or any of that stuff. The focus is not in the withholding. We're fasting in order to focus on the Lord - to lean in towards Him. We're not fasting from, we're fasting to - and not to something, but to Someone. Unless I do it like this, fasting for me is purgatory, except nothing gets purged.

So what we've done in the past is the following: (bulletted else it takes too much writing to say it all)

• We Lent in community, usually a small group of friends.
• Every one hears for her/himself from the Lord what she/he should fast.
• Every one gets something to read for the time, usually a dedicated Lent reading that accompanies or focuses quiet times during the Lent period. 
• Once a week we'd get together for decent coffee (bummer if that's what you're fasting) and share some of our insights and experiences of the week, and pray for one another. 
• At the end of Lent, somewhere just before Easter weekend, we'll watch Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ together. 

Without exception we found Easter being much more meaningful and enriching when we approach it in this deliberate way. 

Some people feel uncomfortable participating in something like Lent, feeling that it's going back to dead traditions or Catholicism or something like that. I don't feel that way at all and will be happy to have a chat with you over a cup of coffee if you're keen. In case someone wants to read up a bit more on Lent, here's a good link: (please note that there are some real poor ones out there as well)

http://www.biblegateway.com/blog/2012/02/what-is-lent/