An End-of-Lent Pep Talk

Michelle Hamel confesses to disappointment in her own unmet expectations about the ways she would change during Lent. 

As Lent draws to a close, I find myself feeling a little disappointed.  

Let me clarify: I'm not disappointed about Lent being over. I'm starting to feel like Lent has been going on for.ev.er! And to be completely honest, Lent has never been my favorite season. It's all those involuntary sacrifices that pop up during Lent ... the illnesses, unexpected medical procedures, unexpected losses, and unexpected hardships and inconveniences ... that make each week even more, well, "Lenty" than we really wanted Lent to be. 

Unmet Expectations for Change and Growth 

The disappointment I feel comes from a place of unmet expectations about the changes I hoped Lent would make in me. The growth I thought might happen during Lent hasn't come to fruition yet. And since we are almost at the end, there's a good chance I will fall short of my own hopes and goals. 

The key words in that last paragraph are "I" and "my," as in the changes that I expected and my hopes and goals. Lent is supposed to be about growing closer to God by working on removing the things in my life that keep me from Him and adding things into my life that He inspires that will accomplish greater intimacy with Him. What really matters isn't the direction Lent took or how well I did or didn't do on the things I took away or the prayers that I added in. If I can focus on the areas of my heart God did choose to work on and any growth I can see, then maybe I can shift my attitude of disappointment to an attitude of gratitude! 

Maybe some of us (myself included) need an End of Lent Pep Talk! 

A Different Perspective on Lent  

I really need to remember that just because parts of my Lent became a journey I wasn't expecting, that doesn't mean I haven't experienced growth. God did give me the grace of a big perspective shift right at the beginning of Lent. By reading Jesus and the Jubilee by Dr. John Bergsma and listening to a podcast by Father Mike Schmitz on the desert as a place of training for the Israelites, I was able to enter Lent in a whole new way.  

I didn't enter Lent this year with a sense of dread for all those involuntary penances that would come my way. Instead, I entered Lent with a posture of curiosity about what God was trying to teach me and heal me from. A small change in perspective can make a familiar time like Lent feel like a whole new experience. 

I always thought of the Israelites' 40-year journey through the desert as a punishment for their doubt, unbelief, and idol worshipping. The Israelites' time in the desert wasn't a punishment, it was a gift. God drew the Israelites to Himself and freed them from the slavery mindset that had been stamped into their hearts for hundreds of years in Egypt. During the time in the desert, God taught the Israelites who He was and how to depend on Him. That generation spent the rest of their lives unlearning and being healed from all they had suffered. 

By doing the hard work with God, the Israelites were writing a new story of healing and faith, not slavery, to pass down to the next generations. We need a new story, just like the Israelites did.  

Writing Our Own New Story 

We spend Lent wandering through the deserts of our own hearts where God is teaching us about who He really is and helping to separate us from our slavery mindset to the idols we hold onto. Maybe we didn't make the progress we wanted to this Lent ... but I think that if we spend some time reflecting (and get past our perfectionism) God will show us the progress we did make. And where we fell short gives us the opportunity to embrace our spiritual poverty and continue turning to God and ask for His help.  

We need to remember that our transformation and growth don't stop just because Lent ends. Especially this year! 2025 is a special year because Pope Francis has declared it a Jubilee year. A Jubilee year is filled with an outpouring of special graces given by God for healing and restoration for ourselves, our families, and our communities. In an article for Franciscan at Home, "Jesus and the Jubilee: Reflections for the Jubilee Year 2025,” Dr. Bergsma shares: 

Lived well, this Jubilee year can be a moment of miracle and grace for all of us, a kind of yearlong spiritual Christmas season in which we daily awake to open the grace that God our Father so lovingly gives us. 

I don't know about you, but a "yearlong spiritual Christmas" sounds amazing! Even if Lent hasn't finished the way we wanted it to, let's continue leaning into the graces this special Jubilee year offers to us each day.  

(And let’s all try to keep our minds off our own expectations and focus on the growth God is doing in His time!)  

Prayers for a blessed Holy Week and Easter! 

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Copyright 2025 Michelle Hamel
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