We are in lent! It does not seem 5 minutes
since I began my training and we are already on the way to Easter.
So, what is lent for those reading this who
may not know…'Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins
on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday. Lent comes from the Anglo Saxon
word lencten,
which means "spring." The forty days represents the time Jesus spent
in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his
ministry. Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming
of Easter. It is a time of self-examination and reflection. In the early
church, Lent was a time to prepare new converts for baptism. Today, Christians
focus on their relationship with God, often choosing to give up something or to
volunteer and give of themselves for others. Sundays in Lent are not counted in
the forty days because each Sunday represents a "mini-Easter" and the
reverent spirit of Lent is tempered with joyful anticipation of the
Resurrection.'
Lent for me is not just about giving
chocolate up to help me on my way to a summer body. It is something much more
meaningful, with the aim to become closer to God.
This year I have chosen to fast from make-up.
I have chosen to do this as it became apparent to me I had a problem when I
wouldn’t go to a morning prayer session without ‘putting’ on my eyebrows at a
church weekend away. Make-up for me has never been something I do for fun but
rather something I feel I need to put on to cover up my imperfections. People
keep telling me I do not need make-up to look nice. Perhaps I don’t, but that
does not immediately take away my belief that I do need them to look beautiful.
It is hardly surprising I feel this way when the images the media presents of
people are heavily airbrushed and social media images are overtly edited making
me and many others feel inadequate. Other factors also have probably played a
part in this feeling of being inadequate. For example, when I was at school, it
was odd if you didn’t wear make-up, comments of the way I looked and my body
shape have stuck with me even now.
In my ordination journey I felt now was the
time I needed to overcome this and learn to love what God has given me. I find
myself telling others they are beautiful and they do not need make-up or to
change the way they look. So, it is time I listen to my own advice and learn to
love what God made me to look like. Ultimately, I hope I can help others to
love the skin God gave them to without being a hypocrite.
How am I going to do this? I have decided I
am not just going to cold turkey, but I am going to get rid of something each
week instead to ease myself in and learn to show a part of myself I like to change.
I am also going to use the extra time I have in the morning to pray for my own
confidence, for others confidence and to find out more about myself.
The below list tells you what I am giving up,
when and what I feel it does:
Week 1-foundation, powder, bronzer, lipstick
(I hate my rosy cheeks and how red my face gets)
Week 2- Eye brow pencil (I plucked half my
eyebrows out when I was 13)
Week 3-Concealer (to hide those bags under my
eyes)
Week 4-Mascara (Extra-long lashes make me
feel like I am on a catwalk)
Rest of lent make-up free
When lent is over I probably will go back to
wearing make-up. But, I hope it will be because I enjoy doing
I and want to. Not because I feel I must.
Every Blessing,
Steph
xoxo
#lent #christianblogger #makeup #fasting
#lent #christianblogger #makeup #fasting
