Sometimes, A Lent Is Not Just A Lent

I think I’ve talked about my Lenten journey nearly every year since I’ve started my blog. Those of you who have been following along in your bulletins probably understand how valuable the season of Lent has always been to me. In the past several years, especially, God has worked mini miracles within me in the weeks leading up to the Easter celebration.

As Christians, we are an Easter people. We believe that we live with the joy of Easter not for a day but for a lifetime- even a lifetime that extends beyond the one we are currently experiencing. I think the best Lents are the same. We give a special forty-day period to God, surrendering a piece of our own will, and make an intentional effort to open ourselves up to Him. If we are honest, we often feel like we are counting down the days until we can eat ice cream again or until that Lenten class is finished. I have found, when I really give myself over to the experience of Lent, I am not counting down days until it is finished. I am in love with Easter and all it means. I cannot and will not discount that kind of joy. Still, Lent can be a time when we lay the kindling for the fire of joy that re-sparks within us each Easter. The Lenten experience will continue to burn, just as the Easter joy should continue to burn, throughout our eternal lifetime.

That all sounds pretty esoteric and abstract, I know. I am not sure I have even articulated what I mean in a relatable way. That is the problem with prying something profound and individual from one’s soul and trying to share it with the blogosphere. Let me give you this year’s example and see if that helps.

Some of you may have read my piece on my Lenten fast this year. If you would like to revisit the content, you can catch it at  www.terrilabonte.com/2026/03/the-lightening-lent/ . This Lent, my special observance was to fast from perceptions of myself that would differ from God’s perceptions of me. I didn’t succeed perfectly. I still had times when I slithered into doubt and self-loathing. However, overall, it was an excellent experiment, and I think it was a worthy discipline. If I want to go to God and give Him the Terri/Dorry that He created me to be, I want to do a better job understanding and honoring that version of myself. After all, He created me elegantly and equips me perfectly. I may not always use His factory-installed or after-market equipment to their maximum effectiveness, but I’m going to keep trying. I did not want to stop this fast when Lent was finished. I want to continue.

As a reminder to myself that this Lenten devotion is part of the kindling for God’s Easter promise to me, I bought a t-shirt several weeks ago. The t-shirt proclaims, “first of all, Jesus thinks I am a delight.” I think it was supposed to be snarky, but, for me, it was an exclamation point for the end of Lent… something to tether the message to my messy mind and wrangle it towards God rather than towards Darkness.

The t-shirt has been hanging in my closet with the tags still on it. Somehow, I could not summon the emotional ownership and courage to wear it. I wasn’t ready to make a public declarative statement.

Until yesterday. I pulled it out of the closet, snipped off the tag, and pulled it over my head. I went out of the house. I looked at myself in the mirror.

Nothing bad happened because- first of all, Jesus thinks I am a delight.

Terri/Dorry 🙂