Committing to Heifer for Lent

By Brooke Edwards

October 3, 2019

Last Updated: February 22, 2012

Today's post is by Linda Meyers, Heifer Communications team member.

Lent has always been my favorite time of year. Maybe becauseI know spring is coming, the days are getting longer, the animals start comingout more, and the colors start sneaking back out again on the lawn and in the gardens. It’s a time of hope, new life, and for my family more together-time as we go out and enjoy nature as much as we can.


Lent is also a time of sacrifice. The story of Jesus’s lifeand ultimate sacrifice has always been important to me, and Lent has alwaysbeen a time to reflect on what he gave up by giving up something myself. Evenduring my 10 years away from church, I still gave something up, or chose to dosomething new and worthwhile, for the 40 days leading up to Easter. This year,I’m going to do both.


Photo by David Snyder, courtesy of Heifer International

As a member of the communications team here at Heifer, I read and write daily about the stories of people bringing themselves out ofpoverty with a simple gift from Heifer. I upload their pictures to Flickr and pin interesting tidbits onPinterest. As I’m doing this, I feel for them and their struggles, and respecttheir abilities to overcome huge obstacles. I am drawn to help them. This year,I’m going to help by dedicating my Lenten sacrifice to Heifer.


I’ve decided to give up my Mountain-Dew-a-day habit. This is no easy task, since I love Mountain Dew and count on the caffeine to wake meup, but deciding to give the money that would otherwise be spent ($1.50 a day) to Heifer is giving me the extraincentive to actually be excited about it. To think that this small sacrificeon my part can be a part of something as big as giving people hope for a betterlife as well as the tools to make it a reality, is huge to me, and it makes me happy. A win-win for everyone. Somethingin me even tells me Jesus would smile at this idea.


I invite you to join me, and be the difference in a family's life. If you are thinking about donating the money you are saving by your sacrifice, or even donating time and/or talents to Heifer or any other organization, leave a comment. I’m interested in reading about what you are doing this Lenten season.