No-Buying New Stuff Lent

Lent is on my mind. Here at church, we are bustling through church service and program preparations for this great season in the year. Lent, the forty day period before Easter, is a special time to hone in on our spiritual selves. It’s called a penitential season, a time for us to repent of the things that keep us from loving God with our heart, soul, strength and mind and loving our neighbors too. For generations, many Christians have given up something like chocolate or beer during Lent to remind them in a daily way of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross and the forgiveness we find in him. I didn’t grow up giving something up for Lent, but in adult life, I’ve begun adding a spiritual discipline for these forty days. This year, I have an ambitious Lenten discipline.

Luckily, I have help. Dear friends from college and I are taking on the same task: A No-Buying New Stuff Lent (NBNSL). What will this look like? Well, we won’t buy new stuff. This means no leaving Target with a pack of 250 votive candles, just in case I might need them. That means no running to the mall to grab a cute outfit for a fun date. If I want a new (to me) shirt or sweater, I am very welcome to take a peak at any of the used clothing stores in town. And what about the Valentine packages that I can’t wait to mail? Well, their contents better be hand-made or funky vintage whatnot that I find at the Salvation Army.

There will still be all sorts of stuff to buy: food, beverages (NBNSL excludes me from getting to-go cups at Starbucks. If I want a hot beverage, I better bring my own cup, as I feel guilty about throwing away a paper cup EVERY time), toiletries, necessary household items, like vacuum bags, and MAYBE supplies for making presents, like flower seed or yarn.

I have a lot of hopes for this Lenten disciple. I hope to better notice how often I want to buy something and look at my motivation for a purchase. I hope to spend more time making gifts—so that care packages can still be sent, but maybe filled with more consumables than stuff to throw on a shelf. I also hope to be in conversation with God about my relative affluence, my consumption, and what that all means for my relationship with Christ.

I’ll post periodic updates on “No Buying New Stuff During Lent.” Feel free to join in this discipline if you’re so inclined and best wishes for coming up with a way to grow in faith and love during Lent.