LENT
Mardi Gras came and went and I did not catch one parade or one bead. The only beads I clutched were the rosary beads I pray during my morning jog around the park.
Lent began today with ashes on the forehead and forty days of fasting...I'm abstaining from my favorite-Smucker's Goober Grape/Strawberry. In case you haven't feasted upon this delectable delight...It's soft peanut butter swirled with jelly. I decided to throw in my other tasty discovery, "Peanut Butter and Company"-White Chocolate Wonderful...Then I decided to add all peanut butter. No shades of grey, no cheating for the next month-not even on Sundays. Some say Sundays are for R and R-but as I told Jacob, whose giving up ice cream-we're hardliners...Falling off the wagon for even one day-tempts the taste buds, distorts the will and makes the return ride a little more difficult.
Zachary, who is on "Mardi Gras" vacation gave up video games...No small feat for an 11 year old...Ben stopped playing his I-phone solitaire...Which he tells me is addictive...Go figure!
I guess a shrink could do a psychological profile that would blow our minds...But really Lent is all about sacrifice and discipline...Letting go of something we want-and letting God give us a supernatural replacement for our temptations, so that we do not settle for less..A quick fix, an unhealthy relationship or any number of convenient choices.
During Lent we can rediscover the authentic answers to the inner desires of our heart and soul...We see the solution to all our struggles and sorrows in the mystery of Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice, his life.
By making the radical choice, to remove the temptation, we come face to face with the truth and the eternal freedom that follows.
Forty days of freedom that could last a lifetime!
Lent began today with ashes on the forehead and forty days of fasting...I'm abstaining from my favorite-Smucker's Goober Grape/Strawberry. In case you haven't feasted upon this delectable delight...It's soft peanut butter swirled with jelly. I decided to throw in my other tasty discovery, "Peanut Butter and Company"-White Chocolate Wonderful...Then I decided to add all peanut butter. No shades of grey, no cheating for the next month-not even on Sundays. Some say Sundays are for R and R-but as I told Jacob, whose giving up ice cream-we're hardliners...Falling off the wagon for even one day-tempts the taste buds, distorts the will and makes the return ride a little more difficult.
Zachary, who is on "Mardi Gras" vacation gave up video games...No small feat for an 11 year old...Ben stopped playing his I-phone solitaire...Which he tells me is addictive...Go figure!
I guess a shrink could do a psychological profile that would blow our minds...But really Lent is all about sacrifice and discipline...Letting go of something we want-and letting God give us a supernatural replacement for our temptations, so that we do not settle for less..A quick fix, an unhealthy relationship or any number of convenient choices.
During Lent we can rediscover the authentic answers to the inner desires of our heart and soul...We see the solution to all our struggles and sorrows in the mystery of Jesus who made the ultimate sacrifice, his life.
By making the radical choice, to remove the temptation, we come face to face with the truth and the eternal freedom that follows.
Forty days of freedom that could last a lifetime!
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