Along with giving up Kevin-style luxuries such as drinking cola-flavored sparkling water and playing games on my smartphone, I made a couple of other Lenten goals.
Full disclosure, I haven’t started working on these yet, but I’m thinking about them.
I naturally blame “Professor Harold Hill” and The Music Man for letting me think I can occasionally get away with a lack of productivity in my life by making use of the “think system”.
In all seriousness, aside from the “giving up” of things during Lent, there are a lot of opportunities in which we can better ourselves.
There are so many, that we could probably make a list.
A list! What a great idea!
Who didn’t see that coming?
OK, serious — for real, this time.
I’ve got a few lists that I’m going to make during Lent.
My hope is that they’ll help me work through some of my weaknesses and strengthen the things that should be strengths.
My hope is that you’ll find some benefits to these ideas as well.
And now, a list of lists.
‘I forgive you’ list
A few books I’ve read lately have pointed me in this direction.
I need to be more forgiving.
It’s so easy to hold onto past pains and the people who hurt us, but we are called to forgive.
It’s quite possible it’s going to be a long list, but I’m going to write down all of the people that I feel have wronged me in my life and need to forgive.
These may be the people who are still in my thoughts over what happened between them and myself in my life.
A list will bring all of these issues out into the open. Maybe some weight can be lifted off of us.
This could be tough for a lot of us.
‘What’s stopping you?’ list
We all want to pray more. We all want to give more. We all want to be better people.
What’s stopping us?
If we really think about it, we can usually come up with why.
We have no time, no energy, no opportunity, and maybe those forgiveness issues.
Instead of dwelling on being stopped, let’s see what the culprits are. Get them out into the open and be honest with yourself.
Maybe some of them are totally solvable. Maybe some of them require more reflection.
‘What do you want?’ list
“Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Lk 11:9-10, NABRE).
No matter how big or small, ask yourself “what do you want in life?”.
Lay out the entire list for God in prayer.
Maybe some of those prayers will be answered.
Maybe you’ll realize what you really need and what you don’t need.
‘I’m praying for you’ list
How many times do we promise to pray for someone or tell someone we’ll pray for them?
Do we do it?
Make it official and keep a running list of all those you want to pray for.
With any and all of these lists, don’t hesitate to make them as long as possible. Maybe that will help us all.
Let’s make our lists first steps to something greater.
Thank you for reading.
I’m praying for you.