ACU students have been participating in Lent during the month of March by giving something up or taking something on.

Lent is the 40 day period leading up to Easter Sunday in which Christians are called to give something up in remembrance of the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert.

Christians observe Lent in a variety of ways. Some people choose self-denial by giving up a luxury of life, while others take on new challenges that aim at bettering their spiritual lives.

Blair Agan, junior communications and political science major from Lake Jackson, has chosen to challenge himself by giving up something very important to him during the 40 days of Lent.

“If we’re trying to live our life in a similar fashion to Jesus and he gave up everything for 40 days while wandering the desert then we can at least do something to make our lives more uncomfortable during Lent by giving something up, and that’s what we’re called on to do,” Agan said.

Agan has reduced his use of technology to the bare minimum during the 40 days of Lent by allowing himself to only use technology to stay in contact with his family and for schoolwork.

“I’m trying to create space in my life. I use a lot of technology and I feel like it has created a distance between me and my relationship with God, so I’m trying to reduce my use of technology,” Agan said.

While many people choose to give something up during Lent, Jordon Herrera, senior ACU baseball player and exercise science major from Houston, has chosen to take on a new challenge in order to strengthen his spiritual life.

“I’ve committed myself to reading from my Bible every day for the next year. I’ve put together a schedule that will allow me to read the whole Bible before the beginning of Lent next year,” Herrera said.

Herrera’s commitment has not been without its challenges.

“It’s definitely been hard to keep up with the schedule because of my time commitments with school and baseball, but in the end I think it will be worth it,” Herrera said.

Agan has also found it hard to keep up with his commitment because of how heavily technology influences life at ACU.

“The first week was really rough. Putting technology away has been really uncomfortable but I have definitely noticed a space where God has come in and filled my life with more peace. There is a lot more time for me to be present in situations,” Agan said.