When I was eight years old in elementary school, I learned about Lent. I had a friend who said that her family had given up sugar for Lent, and that was why she was unable to partake in the festivities of a classmate’s birthday celebration. It befuddled me because there was absolutely nothing on earth that was going to stop me from enjoying a piece of Wal-Mart cookie cake that, in my mind, was going to be the greatest treat I had ever received in the vast eight years of my existence. She said Lent was a celebration that honored Jesus and the time He spent fasting in the desert for 40 days before beginning His ministry. I will admit boldly that I could not understand, at the time, why anyone would give up cookie cake to celebrate something like that, but I continued to stay curious.
At lunch that week, I watched her pray and was even more curious. She didn’t do it for show; she would just quietly sit down and bow her head and close her eyes and wait for a few short seconds before diving into her meal.
Suspicious, I knew nothing of faith, religion, prayer, observing Lent, or really anything about Jesus other than He was correlated with Christmas, which made Him a favorable character in my child-mind. Watching her through the weeks was an interesting transition of curiosity, frustration, envy, and then finally wanting to copy everything she did. I couldn’t explain it, but she drew me in with her quiet confidence. She had bold faith in the face of looking different than other people. Her joy even when she had to say no to things unimaginable (the infamous cookie cake). For an indescribable reason, I felt left out and wanted to be a part of it.
On the final week leading up to Easter, she invited me to church. Maybe it was that her family loudly and jubilantly got into their mini-van, and it felt so welcoming, or maybe it was the promise of brunch afterward, but entering that church was something that has stuck with me. It felt like when you walk outside for the first time after a long winter, and it’s suddenly warm. My heart was warmed by the presence of God.
Lent is a celebration meant to warm your heart toward God. I pray your heart be warmed this season, whether you’re giving up that delicious cookie-cake or diving into the Word to experience newness in the way 8-year-old Kelsey did.
Kelsey Paul, Downtown Campus LifeLight Worship Leader
