Temptation, Forgiveness and Renewal
27 Feb 2012 Leave a Comment
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I gave up Facebook for Lent. I turned off the mobile notifications and email notifications. Avoiding Facebook has turned out to be the easy part. The temptation is how to fill up that free time. It should be filled with prayer and Bible study. But it is very tempting to fill it with movies, music and other web-surfing. Fighting these little temptations helps to exercise self-restraint, build self-control and eventually perfect self-mastery. Bigger temptations will be down the road. I’m thankful for the season of Lent and the preparation for battles to come.
Forgiveness is another area of focus that is appropriate for Lent. In this process of converting to Catholicism, I have found old grudges and areas of unforgiveness have literally vanished. Even after being done wrong since then, I couldn’t hold onto a new grudge. The funny thing is that I’m not really sure when this change occurred. It snuck up on me. I suspect that it has something to do with letting go of pride in thinking that I have it all figured out. The Lord’s Prayer is a powerful reminder of the importance of forgiveness. Also, the examination of conscience eliminates any illusions that I am in any less need of forgiveness.
One of the suggested penances is to pray for someone you don’t like and that doesn’t like you. Pray for blessings upon their lives. After 40 days of prayer for someone, it would be hard to continue disliking them. People that hold onto these grudges think that by doing so, they are punishing the other person. Not so, it hurts you more than anyone. And I know. I’ve been there and am so thankful to be free from that vicious cycle. This simple practice of prayer could bring about a renewal in our lives.
Another area of renewal is in our homes. The suggestion of clearing out clutter to benefit charities has been on my mind the past few days. I had saved all the little girl clothes just in case I and the ultrasound technician was wrong about our baby being a boy. This week, I’m going to go through all her old clothes. I’ll save a few outfits for her to keep. I’ll save some of the nicer things just in case my cousin and his wife have a little girl in August. The rest will go to the thrift store.
