After six months as a stay-at-home dad, I recently started back into full-time hospital chaplaincy. The timing has worked well for me and my family, but one twist was that Ash Wednesday fell right in the middle of my second week of work. I’m serving with new teams, some of whom know me and some of whom don’t, so walking around and offering the ashes was simultaneously a familiar experience and a new one. Also, given that I’ve been focused on this new job and on our little family, I hadn’t really thought about Lent.

As I provided ashes, a number of nurses and CNAs confessed, “I haven’t decided what to give up for Lent yet.” I saw looks of relief on each of their faces when I admitted, “Yeah, me either. There’s been a lot going on lately, so instead of giving something up, I think I might just try to be better about rest.” People liked this response, and it generated some really positive conversation. I take two important reminders from the experience:

1) People respond better when their clergy are human. (Overly-pious seminarians take note!) For care providers, authenticity goes a long way in establishing trust, so the best thing we can do when caring for others is to be ourselves. Always.

2) Lent isn’t mandatory. Jesus famously taught, “The Sabbath is made for people, not people for the Sabbath.” I think we can extend this to Lent as well. Lent is a potent tool to help us explore our mortality and privilege. By giving things up, we remember the impermanence of life and the pain of others around us. On the other hand, it’s 2022, and a lot of people are really damn tired. The healthcare workers I serve with have been on a two-year marathon fighting a deadly and politically-divisive pandemic, and their jobs weren’t exactly easy before that! To all the dedicated nurses and techs and doctors out there struggling with giving up one more small comfort for the next forty days, I think you deserve a few “get out of Lent free” cards.

So yeah, I’m taking a break from Lent. No special Lent blog series. No giving up elevators or buses or caffeine like I have in years past. I’ll still keep writing and serving, but as far as the more intense Lenten disciplines go, it’s a good time to rest.

How about you though?
How are you approaching Lent this year?
And whether you give something up or take something on or take a break from Lent entirely,
what are you doing to take care of you?