Lent 2012

So this year I once again have been observing Lent. In the past few years I've given up Coke or Chick-fil-A but this year I decided to give up biting my finger nails. To give you some background, I've bitten my fingernails as long as I can remember. In fact, I don't ever remember using clippers on my fingernails. Now that I'm a few weeks into it here are some of my thoughts;

This has been way harder than I could have imagined. I used to bite them without thinking about it. I bite them when I'm worried, bored, hungry, tired, as you can see I used to always bite them! I've appreciated this difficulty for a number of reasons.

First, it serves as a constant reminder of the sacrifice that Jesus made for us. As I'm thinking about biting them, I've been reminded of our faithful and perfect High Priest who never sinned (Hebrews 4:15).

Second, it's also reminded me that the temptations we face in life are constantly present, real, and crouching at the door. I want to grow to be aware of sin in my life and the temptation to fall into it with the same cognizant awareness that I have sought to have with this.

Third, I've noticed how well I can do in spurts and how quickly it can end. I loved this reminder the other day as it once again reminded me of the seriousness with which I should approach sin and how slippery that slope can be.

I'll try to post pictures before Easter to show my progress!