The Spirit drove Jesus out into the desert, and he remained in the desert for forty days,
tempted by Satan. He was among wild beasts, and the angels ministered to him.
Mark

By the first Sunday in Lent when I was a kid, Easter joy seemed eons away. We were a few days into our family’s Lenten TV blackout and six weeks away from watching “Leave It to Beaver” and “The Mickey Mouse Club.”

All we could do was play outside, visit our elderly great aunt, read, or play cards and board games.   Horrors! Jesus in the desert had nothing on us. We didn’t even have angels ministering to us.  

If you carry such gloomy Lenten childhood memories, it’s time to flip the script by looking at Lent as Jesus’ invitation to replace attitudes and habits that you’d like to shed anyhow with something better.

View Lent as six weeks to meditate on who you are, who God wants you to be and how to take a few steps to get there. Build your Lenten observance around what you discover.  

Contemplating who God wants us to be is different than making a New Year’s resolution because it speaks to who we ARE, not just something we think we should do, like going to go to the gym more often.

Set aside a mere 15 minutes a day for quiet time with God in which you open yourself to hearing his voice. Think you are too busy to find even an extra 15 minutes? Couple your meditation  with something you do anyhow like walking the dog or taking a relaxing bath before going to bed. The payoff in serenity may start a  rewarding habit while giving up candy ends with Easter.

There are so many ways to turn Lent into a season to look forward to. As a compulsive reader, I select a book on some aspect of spirituality to read for 15 minutes a day, nothing too heavy but something thought provoking. I’ve stumbled onto some great books this way.

Have a little fun by finding an adult twist on those childhood memories like contributing candy money for “pagan babies.” How about making coffee at home instead of grabbing your morning caffein at a coffee house then donating your savings to the food bank?  Whatever you choose, find something rewarding instead of merely penitential.

So Happy Lent! And may the angels surround you for the next six weeks.