Lent 2021: The un-make-uping.
I’m not sure how many of you who follow along here are aware of Lent. I’m sure most of you are, but in case you are lost and don’t know what I’m talking about let me quickly summarize:
Lent is a season on the christian calendar, the forty days leading up to Resurrection Sunday, where we remember Christ’s sacrifice and the forty days he spent in the desert being tempted by satan.
I observe it pretty much every year by fasting from something. You can basically fast from whatever might distract you from the Kingdom or things that bring you joy that you could give up in a sacrifice to the one who gave up his life for you. While this isn’t the most glamorous element of the christian faith (I mean, it’s no Hillsong worship set) it is one of the more transformative.
I am really excited this year because I think the Lord is going to put me through the wringer. After getting the idea from Annie F. Downs, I have decided to give up…makeup.
Y’all……..
Makeup is my safety net.
But the thing is, the reason that I feel like I need makeup is because I don’t actually trust God when he says that the things that make me valuable have nothing to do with how I look.
I have never been able to control my weight (as much as I’ve tried), so makeup has been the one way that I could have some control over how I look. It makes me feel like, despite my perceived bodily shortcomings, I am still valuable and can still pretend to fit in with the pretty, skinny girls. I have always hidden my fears behind my makeup. I have always felt like I had to prove my worthiness based on my looks, so the idea of taking that all away is….terrifying.
But a few weeks ago I prayed for God to get me out of my comfort zone for his glory and the good of his people. And I can’t think of a better way to do that than to take away the thing that makes me most comfortable.
And I am sitting here in complete and total anticipation for what God is going to show me over these 40 days. Because I know He is going to show up. He always does. And he is going to provide me with more than I can ask or imagine. And I don’t mean like he is some kind of genie that will grant me wishes. I mean he will show me more of him than I could ever hope to know. Because when I draw near to him, he draws near to me. And right now, all my hopes and dreams are hanging on him becoming bigger to me. I want to see and know more of him, no matter what it takes.
So let’s get going….