Lent—Fasting—Victory
It’s my favorite season of the year.
It’s the perfect bridge between the dull winter, and the hope for some spring sunshine.
Best of all, dead things come alive.
Lent is here!
Winter 2025, came with the unexpected gift of trekking laundry to friends’ houses for four weeks; so many snow days for the kids; unpleasant driving conditions because of the said snow; not nearly enough sun; and hardest of all, embracing the death of my grandma.
After my grandma passed away, I remember thinking, Lent is around the corner.
Growing up, the days of Lent were just about the only thing more important than the Christmas season. I fondly remember my grandma taking me to the local convenience store to treat me to a meal because I had given up fast food for Lent. There was another time, she joined my family for an Ash Wednesday service at the church we formerly attended, and the message changed my life forever.
The priest taught the congregation about fasting and the motives behind it in a way that still impacts me today. Every January at my current church, the entire congregation takes on a season of fasting and praying. It never fails, people will tell me all about what they’re fasting for twenty-one days; and they go on to ask what I’m doing, and I completely freeze.
When I was in middle school, the priest ingrained in me to keep what I was fasting to myself. That what I wanted to fast was between me and God.
The Bible says, “But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you” (Matthew 6:17-18 NIV).
For over twenty-five years, it has been my mission to keep my fasting life secret.
Yet, I love when other people share what they are fasting, it helps inspire me and support through the long stretch.
This Lenten season, I am treasuring intimacy with God.
I love that all those years ago, the priest taught me to cling to the Lord for strength. Most importantly, remembering to partner with God in a season of fasting. In more ways than one, my younger days of eating a meal packed from home and refraining from soda, taught me that my relationship with God is between me and him.
Prior to being diagnosed with cancer, I remember fasting to shut off the distractions around me and denying myself from the unhealthy ways I tend to cope. In denying myself of comfort and searching for the answers to my health issues, I wanted my groans to turn to the Lord.
I needed him to strengthen me and reveal to me what glorifying him looked like in my agony. The discomfort and tension of fasting made room for me to cling to the Lord, drawing my eyes toward him.
Recently, in this blog post, I mentioned that in 2024, it was my goal to move forward from the unpleasant realities that cancer handed me. I knew in 2025, I needed to work on taking my thoughts captive and trusting his plans for me. I needed to strengthen my dependence on him. And I thought for sure, that would be my 2025 mission: dependence on God.
After seeking what he wanted for me, I discovered I needed to focus on the vehicle that would bring me to depending on the Lord.
Hello my 2025 ride.
Hello seasons of fasting.
Hello: surrender.
Whether it is Lent or my own personal season of fasting, there is value in denying myself of the treasures of this world. In more ways than one, surrendering my ways for his ways is exactly where he wants me.
In my life, this looks like being vulnerable when chatting with a friend, my kids riding the chair lift without me at the ski area. and doing the hard things I prefer to avoid. Most of all, surrendering my understanding has been my greatest area of growth. There have been several life-changing instances this year, where I have had to move forward regardless of having all the answers.
Surrender makes me feel like a deer in headlights.
Surrender is costly..
Surrender is fixing my eyes on the one who controls all the things.
Surrender is trading my personal comfort in observance of God’s son dying on the cross for my sin.
Jesus tells the Pharisees, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV). His way is full of hope, life, and eternity with him.
My Grandma was a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan. After a Cubs win at home, a white flag with a blue W is hoisted over the scoreboard. When celebrating her life this winter, I couldn’t unsee, we win when we raise our white flag because of the finished work on the cross.
“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57 NIV)
We win when we surrender our addictions. We win when we don’t argue with our spouse just to be right. We win when we celebrate someone else’s win. We win when we do the unimaginable: ask for forgiveness and forgive those who have hurt us. We win when we put our lives and future in the hands of the one who gave us life.
Join me in preparing our hearts for Easter by trading the treasures of this world for security in Christ.
Let’s find that everyday gold over the next forty days.
Will you join me?
