Daily Devotion

“What are you giving up for Lent?”  How many times have you heard that from your Christian friends or family?

Lent is a time when many people take inventories of their lives and look for the ways that they are being tempted by vice or sin.  Just as “…Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil” (Matthew 4:1), followers of Jesus look to make their own sacrifices during Lent by denying themselves something they find especially tempting.

Last year, I didn’t have much of a plan for Lent.  A couple of days in and I was still looking for something to do when I realized I had a bit of a daily running streak going, having run 4 days in a row.  It was at that time that I made the decision to run every day of Lent.  No giving up – just adding in running.  The goal was at least 10 minutes every day.  Sometimes it meant I was running with my kids if Jen wasn’t at home.  Or running with the dog if Bluebarry (spelled correctly) needed a walk.  The goal was to not miss a day of running regardless of what the situation was.

Of course, by adding in running, I was giving up something.  We only have so much time each day, so if I wanted to include running, I might have to give up 15-20 minutes of time when I doom scrolling on social media or mindlessly watching YouTube.  But to be honest, I couldn’t tell you want I gave up because I didn’t miss it.  And for me, that’s the real benefit of adding in as opposed to giving up - that I’m not focused on what I’m missing, but on what I’m gaining.

I found that running each day through Lent was enough to create a new habit in my life.  I’m closing in on one year of running every day (and likely over 1000 miles of running during that time).  This Lent, as you consider what your Lenten practice is going to be, think about adding in something that you’d like to see become a habit for the long-term instead of denying yourself something that you will likely pick back-up as soon as Lent is over.