The word Lent is used to refer to the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
A time of heart preparation...prior to Easter.
Noel Piper has written a brief and helpful description of Lent here and her booklet Lenten Lights is a wonderful way to purposefully pause and reflect on Jesus' death and resurrection.
As Noel explains:
"Lent is a season of waiting. In that sense it is like Advent. But while Advent waits eagerly for the appearance of the Savior, Lent waits, with heavy responsibility, for his death. The light of the Advent candles grows brighter as we approach the Savior’s arrival. In Lent, all grows darker as we draw nearer to the unthinkable—the death of God...On Easter morning, all the candles shine triumphantly. The darkness cannot kill the Light."
If you're interested in following along with the Lenten Lights readings you can find them online for free here.
My new friend Cheryl also wrote an interesting and helpful post about the "fasting" aspects of Lent here.
