Growing Together Through Lent

Lent is a Christian tradition that occurs 40-days prior to Easter. It includes fasting, prayer, and reflection with the purpose of growing spiritually. Photo Creds Unsplash 

Abbi Clark, Sports Desk Lead of The Powderhorn

Masks, costumes, beads, and celebration are all major components of one of the biggest parties in the world, Mardi Gras. Shortly after this celebration comes one of the biggest fasting periods for Catholics and other Christian denominations. This time is known as Lent. Lent starts on Ash Wednesday and ends 40 days later on the Thursday before Good Friday. Good Friday represents the day that Jesus died, before ultimately rising again on Easter Sunday. The period of Lent is a time many Christians use to grow their faith. Certain vices or bad habits are given up and often replaced with better habits.

“Lent is a time of the year where I can slow down and win ground in my spiritual warfare after a hard time of winter, connect with my Christian brothers and sisters from other traditions, and look forward to the passion and death of my God,” said junior Bryce Williams.

Many students at Watauga are focusing on the vices or bad habits that they are giving up during this time. Since the period of Lent is a little more than a month long, it is the perfect length to give up things that can be tricky to.

“I am giving up YouTube, video games, and all other screens in my room,” said Williams. “I devote far too much time to dumb time-passing things. This forces me to focus on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable.” 

Some other things that are common to give up include sweet treats, chocolate, coffee, TV, fast food, and meat. However, the most popular at Watauga seems to be social media sites such as Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, or even social media as a whole.

“In the time that I would normally take a break and watch TV or doom scroll, I am going to try to take that time to do something productive,” said freshman Eleanor Connell. “I chose this because I feel like with all of the snow days and stuff, we have had a bit of a weird start to the semester, and I want to get back on track.”

Watauga students are using the period of Lent as more than just a time to fast from unholy vices and habits. It is important to remember that Lent is also a time to feed the spirit and reconnect with God.

“I get stressed out with school work and stuff easily, and I find that the stress makes me feel less of a connection to God,” said Connell. “When I take the time during Lent to get back on track and remove stressors from my life like finishing uncompleted assignments for school and putting my focus into things like sports, I have a clearer mind and I can take more time to focus on my relationship with God.”

No matter what Watauga students observing Lent choose to focus on or give up, Lent is used as a time to grow in one’s faith. Students at Watauga come together during this time to hold each other accountable in their faith. Lent strengthens the relationships among the community while their relationship with God flourishes. Even if it is only for a short time, it serves as a reminder of what is truly important.

“It is good to fast, and especially good to fast together,” said Williams. “It is so good to be reminded of Jesus' ‘final days’ and death.”