Week 1: Introduction
As we step into Lent, we are called to give up more than just chocolate or social media. What if, instead, we gave up the things that weigh our hearts down the most? Resentment. Anger. Doubt. Worry.
Lent is a season of surrender—a time to lay down the burdens that keep us from peace and lean into the grace that can carry us through. And for those of us who have walked through deep grief, we know just how heavy those burdens can be.
Grief asks so much of us. It asks us to let go of what was, to adjust to what is, and to move forward in a life we never asked for. But in that surrender, we also have a choice. We can hold onto the weight of our pain—resentment for what we’ve lost, anger at the unfairness of it all, doubt that we’ll ever feel whole again. Or, we can slowly, intentionally, release it. Not in a way that dismisses our pain, but in a way that allows grace, faith, and healing to step in.
This Lent, I invite you to join me in a different kind of giving up. Over the next several weeks, we’ll explore how grief intertwines with faith and what it means to let go—not of our love or our memories, but of the things that keep us from living fully.
Each week, we’ll reflect on one thing we are called to surrender:
🕊 Give up resentment and become more forgiving
🕊 Give up hatred and return good for evil
🕊 Give up complaining and be more grateful
🕊 Give up pessimism and become more hopeful
🕊 Give up worry and become more trusting
🕊 Give up anger and become more patient
🕊 Give up gloom and become more joyful
🕊 Give up doubt and turn to God
These are not easy things to release—grief makes them feel natural, sometimes even justified. But what if, little by little, we could trade our pain for peace? What if, instead of carrying resentment, we could learn to carry grace? What if, instead of doubt, we could hold onto trust?
I don’t have all the answers, but I do know this: surrender is not about weakness; it’s about freedom. And maybe, just maybe, Lent is inviting us to loosen our grip on what is breaking us and open our hands to what can heal us.
Will you join me in this Lenten journey of surrender?
💜 Stay tuned for next week’s reflection: “Giving Up Resentment and Choosing Forgiveness.”