Walking into Lent Wrapped in Grace

Feb 17 2026 Walking into Lent Wrapped in Grace

Grace Upon Grace

My word for 2026 is grace. It’s already just what I’ve needed in some complicated relational places in the first weeks of this new year: high doses of grace for others and extra for myself as my harshest critic.

As Lent begins, I sense God inviting me to the deep well of His mercy. As a daily rhythm. A way of breathing. A way of being. A next-level kind of grace; one I will never truly comprehend until I see His face. The Lenten season isn’t about proving our devotion or performing spiritual gymnastics. It’s about making space. And in this spacious place, God meets us.

Grace That Goes First

Before we ever choose a Lenten intention, God has already chosen us. His mercy doesn’t wait for us to get our act together. It doesn’t demand perfection. It simply flows steadily with unearned abundance. Lent becomes a season not of striving, but of receiving.

Grace That Slows Us Down

If Advent is the season of holy anticipation, Lent is the season of holy unhurrying. It’s the invitation to stop sprinting long enough to notice the God who moves at a pace slow enough for us to keep up. Stillness isn’t natural for most of us. (If you’re anything like me, your brain has a to‑do list for your to‑do list.) But our Savior whispers, “You don’t have to earn My love. You can rest.”

Grace That Transforms

Lent is not a self-improvement season. It’s surrender season as we move to Resurrection Day. Transformation doesn’t come from our willpower; it comes from God’s kindness. And weakness isn’t a liability in the kingdom of God; it’s the doorway where grace walks in.

My prayer is that we come out of this season differently than when we began: deeper in faith and changed by His grace. Join me as we adopt a few gentle practices this season; not as burdens, but as invitations:

1. A Daily Breath Prayer

Something simple like:

“Jesus, Your grace is enough for me.”

Repeat it when you wake up, when you feel overwhelmed, are offended, feel down on yourself, or when you’re tempted to sprint through your day like it’s a competitive sport. I like to use sticky notes or phone reminders.

2. A Weekly or Nightly “Grace Pause”

Choose one moment each week, or at the end of the day, to stop and ask:

Where did I receive grace? Where did I resist it? Where could I have been more gracious?

3. A Small Act of Hidden Kindness

Let blessings work quietly. Send an anonymous gift card. Pay for someone’s coffee. Leave a kind message.

4. A Gentle Fast

Not a harsh, guilt-inducing one. Maybe it means cutting out non-essential purchases. Doing a sugar fast. How about fasting from self-criticism? Or from doom-scrolling? A social media fast. Or from the need to have the last word.

5. A Scripture to Carry

Choose one verse to memorize or meditate on (again, sticky notes and phone reminders).

Here’s a beautiful option for this season:

“From his fullness we have all received grace upon grace.” John 1:16

Jesus,

As I step into this Lenten season, teach me to intentionally walk in grace. Not the kind I try to earn, but the kind You freely give. Fill me with expansive grace for others and extra kindness to myself. Slow my steps. Quiet my heart. Help me notice Your presence in the ordinary moments. In the pauses, the imperfections, the small beginnings.

Shape me through Your patient love.

May this season draw me deeper into Your heart and purpose and make me a person who carries Your grace into every room I enter. To every person I meet.

Amen

Looking for a devotional to guide you through the season?

https://amzn.to/4tztNBz  

Hear the Savior Kristin Saatzer – Walmart.com

https://www.christianbook.com/savior-readings-easter-based-words-jesus/kristin-saatzer/9781951310745/pd/310745?event=BRSRCP|PSEN&ps_exit=PRODUCT|legacy&search_term=Hear%20the%20Savior&Ntt=310745&product_redirect=1