The past few days I've been thinking about what I should give up for Lent this time around.

People always ask me, " Why bother?" " What's the point in the first place?"

And when I was younger, I didn't use to understand as well. Its just something everyone around me does, and I do it because the nun in cathechism classes told us to, and because I thought it'll be nice to do something for the God who loved me so much.

Discipline in the sense of abstaining from something I really like to do or enjoy is by large, the hardest thing. And yes, it is only for a short period of 40days, but when it is something you usually look forward to at the end of a long and crappy day... its close to hell, i should say.

Why deny yourself from the things you enjoy, you may ask? Many will not agree to this act of self-denial, this 'so-called' act of sacrifice for God. Majority will feel that this, in actual fact, is stupidity. Some will say, this doesn't show that you love God any more than others who do not abstain.

So why bother?

If you'd asked me this big WHY question last year, I would say.. " Well coz its the way I was taught to live my faith. And doing otherwise wouldn't make me happy. "

This year, if you'd asked me again, this is what I feel. Lent can be at any time of the year, it is just a season to remind us of our loving Father's sacrifice by giving us his Only Son. Why the sacrifice ONLY during this season? If you claim you love God so much and want to show that you love Him in return, why not do it the entire year? And the rest of your life?

The way I see it, is that we are humans. We need a reason to do the things we do, a season during which we can get 'into' it without losing interest. Humans are made to feel bored, we get tired, we lose faith. It takes a lot to keep on track with self-sacrifice and self-reminder. It is inevitable that we drift further away at some point, with so much going on in our lives, and we find it necessary to find a reason to bring us back to track. An entire year of sacrifice is not human-ly possible for most of us. We have this natural need to pamper ourselves with the best things life can offer, make ourselves feel good with good food, good entertainment, etc etc, which is, in my opinion, is not wrong.

For I am very blessed all my life, I feel that it is good to have this reason ( or should I say season ) where I sit back and reflect. Reflection in the sense of what God has blessed me with, and to appreciate the things I could still do to make myself happy, even after giving up what I used to enjoy. Also to appreciate that happiness in the heart comes less from superficial things like comfort food and entertainment, but more from doing good and having good relationships with people and God.

Reminding myself of what I have and many others don't, can only, I believe come in the form of sacrifice. Yes, in essence its not taking the sufferings of others or experiencing it in the same way, but its just the understanding of the feeling of deprivation of alot of things I have, but take for granted. And true compassion only comes with experience. Saying you understand what a person is going thru is mere hypocrisy unless you've been through it in a way or another.

This year my Lent sacrifice would be giving time to God in prayer. Prayers for the people I care about, the people I love. Every day, for at least half an hour.

I hope, that when Easter comes, I would find answers to the many questions I have in life, and that people will feel the blessings that I believe God will grant with enough perseverance on my part.