The Lenten season is upon us (that's the fancy way of saying Lent!). For those of you who don't know..or who knew but have forgotten, Lent is the 46 (40 not including Sundays) days before the Easter season (and you thought there was nothing beyond 'don't wear white past labour day'!). We've been going to our church, Newlife, for about five years now..they have always celebrated Lent but I was always 'eh..not this year...not for this girl'. And so the years passed by. I've grown into my spirituality considerably in the past five years.
Having come from a hard core, bible thumping, do it our way or get out religion, I spent a good 10 years not a part of anything religious after I left a 30 year career in previous stated religion. Until we started going to Newlife. Mark wanted to go. Lets get that straight right from the get go. He suggested it several times in fact "hey..heard about this great church some of the guys on the boat go to, we should try it out'. Uh huh..sure..THIS Sunday? But we have plans THIS Sunday...and so it went. Until ONE Sunday we made the leap to go. Looking back, I think..no, I know it was God holding me back until this particular Sunday, because He DOES have a sense of humour! So we start out for Church and I have a laundry list of things "I better not hear from the Pulpit!". If they tell me 'if you aren't one of us then you are going to hell' I am OUTTA there. Ditto on the whole 'we are the ONLY true religion', 'women are lesser beings' etc etc. I am surprised I even made it out the door! I walked in and was actually EAGER to find a reason to leave! I'd show organized religion! Oh yes I would! Don't fail me now moral high ground!!
The sermon that day was 'The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse'. If you aren't a 'religious' person, this means nothing to you. If you are, then you know that having come from a bible thumping religion to hear a sermon like this was like a KABLAM from God himself. I had never heard this teaching taught quite this way! I sat, mesmerized for the hour that we were there. Barely breathing...just listening. I forgot my list of 'they better not say' s. I left there feeling encouraged and uplifted and HAPPY! Even on a GOOD day, discussing a relatively MILD topic like 'WE are the good guys and everyone else is going to die, when they do who's house do you want' in my old religion, had left me feeling down and depressed and guilty for all I HADN'T done that week. Here I was...having heard one of the most doctrinal topics in the bible discussed and I was HAPPY! What the junk? Is THIS what religion...no, SPIRITUALITY was supposed to be about?? Mark asked me on the way home what I thought and all I could say was "I think we need to go back next week and see what ELSE they talk about". Like I said, that was five years ago! And thus is how my spiritual life has grown...how I have gone on a walk with God that is truer and more meaningful in five short years than the other 30 years I'd spent with the other folks ever was...and that is how we get back to LENT!
So this year, I was actually WAITING for them to announce the start of the Lenten season! I was all prepared. I knew how I was going to 'help out' and I knew what I was going to give up. I am giving up alcohol. Makes me sound like a raving drunk...to 'give' up something like booze, you'd have to be right? Nah...but I DO enjoy...REALLY enjoy my cold crisp glass of wine on a Saturday with a good SVU marathon on! So..gone is the wine for the next 40 (46 if you count Sundays,and I kind of think I can't drink on Sundays but not the other days if I want to count this as 'giving something up') days.
Now Mark is giving up Coke. Soda in general actually. No wine, no soda. Should make for an interesting time over the next month and a half! lol...now, I sorta feel guilty when I sit down with a diet coke in front of Mark...note, I said KINDA. Cause I am giving up WINE, I don't have to give up coke too, just because he is. Not my fault that he isn't a drinker of any kind and can't 'repay' me by sitting down with a nice cold crisp glass of white wine. Anyways...I look forward to 'giving up' something, even for a small fracture in time...I figure it's the least I can do for a God who so HUMOUROUSLY showed me the way back to his path...
Hugs to all,
Jaye
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