More from Diane Boleyn

The season of Lent seems like a perfect time for scanning my life to see how it is lining up with God’s instructions found in his word, the Bible. I want to answer questions like: How am I doing when it comes to imitating Jesus? What does it look like to take up my cross to follow him? Am I becoming more like Jesus in my thoughts and attitudes?  Am I acting more like Jesus in my interactions with others? What Lenten practices can help me answer these questions and forge new, more godly paths of thinking and behaving?

I wasn’t raised in a faith tradition that observed the Christian liturgical calendar, so for many years Lent, along with Advent—the other major season of self-examination, repentance, and preparation—was as foreign to me as little green men from Mars.

This changed for me and my immediate family when my husband became a chaplain in the United States Air Force. We were thrown into the melting pot of the great, historical Protestant and Catholic traditions as we shared worship space and resources. This broadened and deepened my experience as a Christian and gave me many more resources for enriching my faith. It was common during Lent to sit with brothers and sisters from all parts of the spectrum of Christianity during weekly luncheons and devotions on Jesus’s teaching and relationships in the days before he was killed. We prayed together, and many adopted the discipline of fasting.

After leaving the Air Force, we returned to worship in our home church, which did not teach about Lent or encourage Lenten practices. I missed the focus and communal intentionality of Lent that I had experienced during the military years. So as the years went by, I often tried observing Lent by adding spiritual practices such as scripture memory, fasting, and others to my normal devotional routines. I learned that it can be hard and discouraging to lean into practices that challenge my status quo in faith—my ways of living and thinking—when this is done without the context of Christ-centered community.

We have moved to a new community now, so Lent will be different this year. My Lenten journey includes a study group that is exploring the spiritual disciplines—worship, prayer, Sabbath, scripture reading, fasting, service, witness, and generosity. I am looking forward to a review of what I already know and have found helpful over the years. It will also give me the chance to examine the way my life is currently unfolding in the context of a supportive community. I get to journey with Jesus and his 21^st century disciples as we learn to apply the standards God has laid out in the Bible for our benefit and his glory! I hope this will help me answer the questions I posed at the beginning of this blog and prompt me to live a deeper, more consistent and fruitful walk with the God who loves each of us profoundly.

What Lenten practices are you being challenged by as you scan your spiritual health and journey with Jesus in this season? How does your faith community challenge or support your walk with God? Let’s chat!