Ash Wednesday and an open bag of KitKats.
Today is Ash Wednesday beginning the 40-day period leading up to Easter.
Traditionally, a period of introspection and focusing on the gift of Easter. Also self-denial.
Looking at a calender and counting the days, you’ll find there are actually 46 days between now and April 5.
Those extra days are the six Sundays till Easter Sunday. What I like to refer to as the Lenten denial loophole.
The word on the street is that you can break your fast on Sundays. But once learning of this facet of Lent, I just ignore it for if I ever break my fast — there is no way to restrain all that pent up energy again.
What to give up?
Well, since high school my sister and I have given up sweets. It wouldn’t be Christmas without draping colored lights over everything and it wouldn’t be Lent to me without giving up sweets. We added chips to our sweets fast somewhere in our mid-20s. Probably about the time I discovered my love for the three amigos: tequila, chips and salsa.
Notice how I haven’t said I’m giving up tequila.
This bag of KitKats received a lot of attention last night before I went to bed.
Yes, every year my sister and I give up sweets and chips and lose tons of weight.
Heck no. We laugh about it. How we used to lose five pounds every spring, but nope. No weight comes off now.
As much as the no sweets and no chips makes me feel Lenten, I know that abstaining from such, for me at least, is just tradition. Any deep meaning and introspection behind the act is long gone — if it ever was more than wanting to lose a few pounds.
So what should this Lent hold for me? How can I try to focus on God and focus on changing for the good?
I decided to give up negativity. Negative thoughts on circumstances. Negative thoughts about myself and of others.
When a worry or less than positive thought bounces through my brain, I’m going to stop.
Stop and pray.
Ask Jesus to open my eyes (figurative language y’all) and help me see this person, this situation as he views it.
Christians have some negative press these days. Some of it deserved. But to anyone reading this who doesn’t believe in Jesus, I’m sorry that we who do have messed up the world’s perception.
Because if anyone truly met Jesus. Truly took the time to experience him, there is no way you wouldn’t be hooked for life.
So for Lent I’m putting my Jesus blinders on. Taking the big Jesus scalpel to my heart. Hooking up my brain to the Jesus download.
We’ll see how it goes.
Thoughts? Positive ones?
