Another week has come and gone, and things have gotten a little easier. Though this week I did have a day where I went over my screen time (which I rationalized like crazy to myself). That has turned out to be harder than the food part, though that has also been really good for me. But I do find myself glued to the computer during most of my downtime, especially because I’m not in Pittsburgh where I built up a big community. So toning down my computer time is forcing me to do things like read! And write letters! It also makes me less susceptible to doing things like getting sucked into internet games for hours, which really isn’t good for anybody.
The weather is finally starting to get nicer (though it is supposed to snow later this week), which will hopefully make it easier to get out of the house and back into the world, which is part of why I wanted to try to limit my computer time in the first place. I also just want to be more active and take better care of the body (and resources) that God has given me, which is also related to the fact that I just agreed to run a half-marathon in June with my mom! So I’ve got to get running.
It’s important to not get caught up in the details of everything, though, and to remember that ultimately, Lent is there to get us closer to God and help us prepare to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Some of that has to do with confronting our own weakness, which I definitely did this week when I got sick for the fourth time this semester. It’s frustrating because it meant I couldn’t fast yesterday, and I’m having to put off starting to run, which is upsetting. I’m riding the line between knowing that His strength is made perfect in our weakness and also knowing that sickness tends to sabotage me from consistently exercising. Like, every time I start trying to take better care of myself that way, I immediately get sick. So I’d appreciate some prayers for health and resilience in not giving up when things get hard. It’s looking like starting to run is going to end up being part of Lent too, because Lent is also about discipline, and there are two areas in my life that I have the hardest time with that: my prayer life, and keeping myself physically healthy. Hopefully I can use this time remind me to run the race is such a way as to win the prize–in more ways than one.
So that’s my status update! Any tales of victory out there, or else moments of Christ’s strength in your weakness? I’d love to hear any of them. And if anybody needs prayer or encouragement on their own Lent (or other) journey, I’m all ears!