Sharing: the journey so far

Usually, I'd just fast from one item during Lent, forgetting about the aspects of Prayer and Almsgiving. But this year proved to be something different from me, something that changed when I embarked on this journey of Quadragesima. I didn't expect myself to be committing to a Lenten fast, more prayer, and almsgiving practice, all at one go! Neither did I expect to journey through Lent with a group of people, rather than just with myself.

So far, it's been an amazing, and yet very trying time for me during this year's Lent. With added abstinences and temptations to fight against (cos it seems like when you set yourself to do something, the temptation is only higher), I found myself praying hard for God to grant me strength to say No to the temptations that surrounded me, and eventually, growing stronger in faith in Him. I remember the first Thursday of Lent when I did my bread fast, and I didn't dare to tell my friends what I was eating (i.e. plain bread) even when they asked, for fear that they might not understand what I'm doing or if they would laugh at me, and also cos I thought that Matthew 6:16-18 meant for me to hide away my fast and not show that I'm fasting (but now, I found out that it doesn't entirely mean that).

During the first league of this Lenten race, denying myself of sweets and chocolates (what I set to fast from) was really tough too. I couldn't resist these, especially when chocolate was in small amounts in food items, where something in me would tell me "it's just a small amount, it's okay to eat it lah". I fell into these temptations many times, and once fallen in, it was so difficult to get out of it.

And yet, somehow (I'm sure it's by God's grace), I managed to get out of it.

It's amazing, to me, how God's helping me out in fighting temptations, when He allowed them to happen to me. Perhaps, all these temptations are ways not only for me to build up my self-control (when I say No to them), but also to build my relationship with God, to help me to trust in Him more, and even after this Lent's over, to remember that He's always here for me.

Thanks God. :)
And thank You for this time of Lent.



- posted on behalf of Amanda Lek