Lent and Life

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday. So late this year. I can't believe that Easter isn't until April 24th. So crazy late.

What I also cannot believe is that this year Good Friday and Earth Day are the same day.

This is a coincidence, a sheer happenstance. For me, for us, this brought some things to the forefront of our minds when considering a significant way to sacrifice during this season. After reading Serve God, Save the Planet I have been convicted about many different things in life. There are so many small things that I can do to make the world a better place for other people. There are also many small things I can do to learn what the world is like for other people.

To me, the idea that Good Friday and Earth Day are the same day brought up the idea of sacrificing some pieces of myself that will be better for God's creation and also help me to understand that my 'sacrifices' are how other people are forced to live every single day of their lives. For me, understanding this and re-learning it each year helps me to have a better focus. It helps me to remember who God is and who God calls me to be.

For my life, the sacrifice is important.

This year, the sacrifice is going to be difficult, but what's an easy sacrifice good for? This will be particularly difficult in light of the fact that we're moving in the middle of it and the stress levels will be high at that particular time. However, in spite of this, I think the sacrifices will be extremely good for us.

For Lent this year, we are only going to be enjoying water and herbal tea to drink. If we get sick, juice will also be included. No coffee. No half and half. No milk. No black or green tea. No soda. No nothing.

For some people this may not be a huge issue, but for me, for us, it is a large and looming problem.

We will realize just how much money we spend on beverages that do not fall into the category of 'need'. (Although we will buy milk to make yogurt.) We will realize that there are millions of people in this world who do not even have clean water to drink, much less everything else on that list. We will realize that caffeine should not be used to wake us up, keep us going, or keep the headaches away. The detox is going to be bad and difficult. For us, it is significant to recognize that God did not make the body to 'need' caffeine or sugary beverages. Water is enough. God has supplied enough in the beauty of water.

The other sacrifice for us is refined sugar. This is a recurring issue for us, a recurring dependence, a recurring problem. Again, this sacrifice reminds me that I cannot depend on foreign substances to get through the tough times. Cookies will not make me feel better, ultimately. Dessert is not the only way to have a beautiful meal with friends. White sugars and corn syrup are off the table.

Also, this sacrifice really brings up the issue of farm slavery, child labor laws, and many other big issues. Most of our sugar now comes from sugar beets, which have no nutritional value. People all over the world work for long days under back breaking heat to bring us this non-nutritional substance and they don't get paid enough to even feed their families for their work.

So for my addiction, people die. I should really learn something. Buy fair trade sugar, ok?

Also, in the land of Iowa, where I hail from, people there eat more locally than people in any other state. Why, you ask? Because of CORN SYRUP. Iowa grows corn and corn syrup is in everything so Iowans eat the most 'local' food. Corn syrup isn't food, but I digress. I need to learn that the land is being raped and that healthier farming practices are starting to become more prominent.

For my addiction, God's creation has been and is being destroyed. I should really learn something.

If you know me at all, or have ever been around me when I move you know that this isn't going to be pretty. But I don't think Lent is pretty. It is a narrow road to the cross.

But at the end? At the end is resurrection.

Exceptions:

1.Kennan's co-workers have been wanting him to make cheesecake since before he started working there. He's leaving in the middle and we didn't have money in our grocery budget last month for all that cream cheese. He will be making a plain cheesecake with raspberry sauce. We will each have one small piece when we share with co-workers.

2.Kennan will be having beer this Friday night with some guys who have been planning a guys night get together for a long time and it is finally coming to fruition.

3.Honey and maple syrup don't count. Why? Because they are more natural. The bread I bake uses a small amount of honey. We hardly ever use maple syrup, but we do put a small amount (think tsp) on our oatmeal. We rarely have pancakes, but usually do eat them about once every 6 weeks.

4.If we go to someone's home and they have made a spectacular beverage or dessert precisely because we were coming over, then people come before sacrifice. People are always more important. We will try to let people know that this is the case beforehand, but I would rather err on the side of loving the person who made something extraordinary for me than offending them and hurting their feelings. This is more of a potential problem right now because lots of people want to have dinner with us before we leave.

On Easter? We'll be having homemade cinnamon rolls and 3 shot lattes.

How did we prepare today? We had lattes for breakfast. We're having root beer sometime today. And chocolate/raspberry port made by a local winery (only one small glass each because we already drank the rest of the bottle). We're eating sugary almonds and cashews that we love from Trader Joe's. Kennan is eating his favorite peppermint crunch Joe-Joe cookies from TJ's.

Too much, you say? Probably. Should we not overindulge today? Probably. Will this make the crash for the next week much, much worse? Yes.

You know what I say? Oh well. I want my coffee today. And my soda. Maybe that makes me a bad person, but I'm fine with it. It is Shrove Tuesday after all, the apparent day of feasting before the fasting.