How is it Lent already?!  Really snuck up on me this year, which is ironic considering we already know how the story goes. What does it mean to be in a period of atonement, especially when emotionally you might already be feeling as grey as the sky is today? Does God want me to stay with this feeling, to explore every corner of it, to let it weigh me down for 40 days? Sometimes I feel like I hear from one side that Lent is supposed to be a hard time, a time where we're not comfortable, where it's not  easy...and from other sides I hear that deprivation and solemnity isn't healthy...is there a way to map our self-care onto the grey sky days of Lent that lets us grow spiritually from the intentional experience of our gloominess?

I've had a hard time coming up with something to give up this season- everything I've thought of feels more New Years Resolutiony than actual Lent. Maybe that's because thus far I've been electing to deprive myself of things that aren't that healthy for me to begin with (refined sugar, white flour, butter, fried foods, etc). How do I give up something that will let me feel the weight of that deprivation, without it feeling like I'm just electing to be healthier (which in turn makes it a lot easier to give up)...how do I adopt a Lenten practice that keeps my focus on the cross, and not on my appearance, fitness, or nutrition? Do I give up social media? Driving my car to places within  a mile or two of my apartment? Using the microwave? Netflix?