40 Days of Self-Care

Tomorrow marks the start of Lent and if your socials are anything like mine I am being flooded with people “giving things up”. As I continue to work to grow my faith I have dug in and done some research on what the real purpose of Lent is.
Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon word lencten, meaning “lengthen” and refers to the lengthening days of spring. The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry. So it boils down to prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (donating).

In this season of my life I need to work on filling my cup, not depleting it, so I decided I am going to spend the next 40 days doing a deep dive with my bible study, and really work on loving and caring for myself. I have been giving so much lately I need to refill my cup in order to best serve myself and others.

Some things to reflect on-

1. Go back to the basics.

Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving—as the three things we need to work on during the season.

2. It’s a time of prayer.

Lent is essentially an act of prayer spread out over 40 days. As we pray, we go on a journey, one that hopefully brings us closer to Christ.

3. It’s a time to fast.

Fasting is actually a form of penance, which helps us turn away from sin and toward Christ.

4. It’s a time to work on discipline.

The 40 days of Lent are also a good, set time to work on personal discipline in general. Instead of giving something up, it can be doing something positive. “I’m going to exercise more. I’m going to pray more. I’m going to be nicer to my family, friends, and coworkers.”

5. It’s about dying to yourself.

The more serious side of Lenten discipline is that it’s about more than self-control—it’s about finding aspects of yourself that are less than Christ-like and letting them go.

6. Don’t do too much.

It’s tempting to make Lent some ambitious period of personal reinvention, but it’s best to keep it simple and focused.

7. Be patient with yourself.

When we’re confronted with our own weakness during Lent, the temptation is to get angry and frustrated. “What a bad person I am!” But that’s the wrong lesson. God is calling us to be patient and to see ourselves as he does, with unconditional love.

8. Reach out in charity.

It’s about more than throwing a few extra dollars in the collection plate; it’s about reaching out to others and helping them without question.

I made this graphic, so if this suits your life this season feel free to print it out and use it how you see fit.