By: Lakeview Health
Lent starts this week with Ash Wednesday and ends with Easter. For many Christians, Lent is a season of repentance and prayer to get ready for the joy of Christ’s resurrection at Easter. Whether or not Lent is a part of your Christian tradition, it’s a good time to reflect, both about your life as a Christian and as an addict in recovery. Lent’s 40 days (plus Sundays) remind us of Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness. Those days of deprivation, testing and temptation are familiar to any addict. And maybe make them feel like they don’t measure up. Jesus was tempted by the devil and resisted. But for addicts, there was temptation and no resistance for so long. Jesus went into the desert to test Himself, to see if He was ready to sacrifice for us. He found strength in the Father’s love. Knowing what Jesus did can be a source of strength for us. Just going through Christian rehab isn’t easy. Recovery isn’t easy. The temptation is everywhere and we never seem to get any prizes for avoiding it. But Lent can give us a quiet space to reflect. We know life has deserts and trying times ahead and we have to face them. We can take this time for more prayer and reflection on how God’s grace has helped us along the way. What will you do for Lent? How has reflecting on the struggle helped your recovery?
