Giving Up Coffee for Lent takes you Nowhere.

Giving up coffee for Lent takes you nowhere… Spring has finally arrived in the Ozarks. On Easter Sunday we were still recovering from the rain, snow and cold that came upon us. While it seemed that the gloomy weather was out of character for the season; it was to me, quite fitting. It was still March and it was Lent. As Christians we look at Lent as a time of reflection and abstinence. As a member of the Catholic Church we give up something for this time and like to believe it makes us better humans. Our house of course always has a discussion about the usual avoidance of meat on Fridays; most Catholics do. Ours Is somewhat different due to the issue that we have a vegetarian in our house and don’t eat meat about half of the week anyway. This conversation then leads into what we should additionally sacrifice during this time. The usual responses from friends and family range from television, Facebook, chocolate and soda, to wine and swearing. Now, I don’t know about you but giving up swearing probably would improve your standing at the golden gates; however, I really don’t think avoiding chocolate or social media is going to earn any extra golden check marks from God. Although one year I did give up coffee and I can tell you that the self-discipline it took to be civil every morning might have taught me something; perhaps my lesson was “THAT was never happening again!”. During our “Lenten trial periods” early in our family we came up with an idea we stuck with for many years (still do this often). We decided that everybody was to give up one (still useful) item every day during Lent. No, the trash you left on your bedroom floor doesn't count! For our family of seven (years ago) this amounted to seven items a day for 40 days! If you didn't already do the math that is 280 things removed from our home. This is of course the ultimate spring cleaning. We figured this was a great way to give a lot of things to charity and purge ourselves from unwanted “stuff”. In the beginning the kids are always very giving but by days 3 to 5; I always get the occasional sock w/ a hole or something along those lines placed in our to go box. Upon cornering the child who “sacrificed this treasure” I ask, “is this the best you can do?” I get answers that sound like this, “I was out of things to give” or “I couldn't give anymore”. My classic response is “REALLY?” The whole course of this sequence leads to an eventual discussion of you can always give more than you think you can. Reach down into your heart (closet, toy box, drawers etc) and look! What a hands on lesson! “In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for the people” ~Colossians 3:23 . So we reach the end of Lent every year and repeat a lesson in life that we can always give more, do more and sacrifice more than we thought we could. This lesson repeats it’s self so many times in our HOLY BIBLE it is good to repeat it many times in our lives. All of the items for charity are placed in boxes downstairs on a bench (actually this is a large church pew!) and taken to the needy. So now we have a clean(er) house and hearts. Back to the weather; It was still dark and gloomy outside the week before Easter. For some reason as long as I can remember it always seems to be overcast or rainy on Good Friday. By Easter the sun usually is shining and the day is beautiful. This year was no exception. It was if God himself took us from darkness into light! Now, isn't that the journey we are yearning for as we leap into the light and warmth of spring and Easter? Lent and winter seem to prepare us for the light and the life to come. I know this is a bit late for this year (or is it?) but maybe next year as Lent approaches (or all year) each of you can dig down within yourselves and search to give more than you thought you had to offer. The weather this week does feel more like spring. In the week since Easter our flowers started blooming, the grass is greener and new life has arrived at our farm. My children are now much older and only 2 still live at home. We don’t always totally stick to the 40 items for 40 days rule but we do try to give. We of course don’t eat meat on Fridays (as we don’t 3-4 days a week anyway; Mr. Veggie is one still at home). We try to fast a bit as well. We try to keep as often as possible to simple one course meals so that we are giving up more than just the meat which might have been missing anyway. As we enter the Easter and spring season, we should look within our hearts to give more, take less and look to the Son as a shining example as whom we should be like. I hope your Lenten journey prepared you for a Happy Easter and Spring. By the way you might have guessed, the moral of this story is not; “Don’t give up coffee!” Copyright 2013 Micheline Edwards