Finish Lent Strong, by Shaun McAfee

Every year, Lent begins with a kind of spiritual adrenaline. On Ash Wednesday we hear the solemn words, “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” and suddenly everything feels urgent. Churches are full. Prayer resolutions are bold. Fasting plans are ambitious. We promise God we will pray more, give more, sacrifice more. For a moment, it feels like we are finally becoming the disciples we should have been all along.

But then the weeks pass. The intensity fades. The sacrifices become routine. The prayers we meant to add to our day sometimes get shortened—or forgotten entirely. By the time the fourth or fifth week of Lent arrives, many of us quietly realize that we are no longer keeping our resolutions the way we intended. ….