Many Christian faiths began the season of Lent Wednesday, March 6. This is such an important time for us in our personal faith journey. Lent means spring. I am not sure if you are like me, but more than ever before I need to hear (and feel) that word spring soon. It has been such a long, cold and crazy winter season. With snow days, cold days and ice days it seems we have had every weather type imaginable that has impacted our days, and definitely had an adverse effect on our moods.

For me personally, Lent is coming at an opportune time. I have always enjoyed Lent as it challenges me to grow as a person in the following ways: fasting, prayer and almsgiving. When we try to focus the next 40 days on those three things, our journey to spring and to Easter will be so much more joyful. When I was growing up, it seemed like we only focused on the whole “giving up” thing. It seemed like we would sit around our dinner table before Lent began and quiz each other with questions like “what are you giving up for Lent?” Our answers would be always age-appropriate: I’m giving up TV, gum, candy or some type of other food. But when I started teaching about 28 years ago, my philosophy regarding Lent changed. I worked hard to encourage that change in my students as well. Instead of “giving up” something, I felt it was important that we started to “do something” to make ourselves better people in the 40 days ahead. I began to challenge my students (and myself) to choose one thing you could do that would make you a better person. The energy and excitement began to grow in my classroom, and I was excited when I talked to parents to know that positive things were happening at home as well.

This year at school, we are asking our students and their families to “Follow in the Footsteps” of Jesus during this Lenten season. They each took a foot and wrote down something they wanted to work on to be a better follower of Jesus, some of these included praying more, being kinder to classmates, helping Mom do the dishes, making sacrifices for family. We also had plenty of students and staff who chose to give things up such as Xbox, candy and wheat flour foods. Whether we are “doing or giving up” during this Lenten season, the most important thing is to make a change. Change can be scary and often time will put us out of our comfort zone, but can also bring about many great things in our lives as well.

Last week during our faculty prayer, one of my teachers showed a video entitled “What Can You Accomplish in Forty Days?” The video was filled with great examples of exercising, eating healthier, spending more time with those you love (instead of our heads buried in the phone or tablet). 

This is my challenge to you, by either “doing or giving up” what are you going to do in the next 40 days that makes you a better person? That maybe starts you on a new great habit or lifestyle change? But most importantly what are you going to do that makes our world a better place? 

Let’s take these next 40 days to follow in the footsteps of Jesus, the one who does everything for us and teaches us how to be the best human being we can possibly be.

— Joe Peters is the principal at St. Victor School in Monroe. He can be reached at joepeters@stvictormonroe.org.