another new start.

As I wrote a few weeks ago, lent is a sacred time that I wanted to intentionally observe again this year.  I vowed to give up the personal use of my computer.  And I found myself failing at even that.

I desire so many things more than I long to be with the Lord.  I spend my free time on frivolity instead of depth.  We are such a broken people, are we not?

Sigh.
Sometimes I disappoint myself.  This lenten season was one of those times.  I know that God accepts us even in our brokenness; for who we are right now, not for some future version of ourselves.  We are made whole in Christ, but in an already but not yet sort of way.  We are redeemed, but not quite all the way made perfect until we are with the Lord - an interesting concept that I can't quite grasp.

One thing I do know is that there is truth in the wise words of Margaret Thatcher:

"Watch your thoughts, for they become words.Watch your words, for they become actions. Watch your actions, for they become habits. Watch your habits, for they become your character. And watch your character, for it becomes your destiny. What we think, we become."

So perhaps lent was a prime time for me, for anyone, to create new habits that bred from new thoughts.  But since it didn't create a consistency?  Well, there's no such thing as failure until you give up on a thing.  So don't give up.  Discipline, integrity, character.  Keep at it.

I think I'm about to give up my computer again, but this time not for ritual's sake, but for my own well-being.  Here's to another new start.