Lent

In case you haven't noticed, we got a new camera, yay! Since we bought our last point and shoot, cameras have really shrunk. We didn't get an SLR yet, but are leaning towards Canon. We got a Canon p&s for now, an SD1300, and so far like it. Basically, it does what it needs to, and seems to take really great up close photos. In the meantime, we'll keep saving for that SLR!

Lent began a couple weeks ago with Ash Wednesday, and I have to be honest, this is my favorite church season. I love the act of re-commiting, of renewing, andof growing closer to Him. Last night our priest gave a homily in which he bluntly exclaimed, with a smile, that he could care less if we ate that juicy butterfly steak on Fridays when we are to abstain from meat, and if we feel the need to indulge ourselves, well, that is our choice, and to please stop asking him what he thinks about it! His point, of course, was that this lenten journey is OURS, and the purpose is to sacrifice in order to grow closer to Christ. So if we abstain from meat, but don't feel the sacrifice as we delve into that buttery lobster tail, then only ourselves will be stunted. But if we choose to truly sacrifice, through food or otherwise, we just may learn that these small sacrifices we tend to make during this season can never come close to the great sacrifice He made, and thus may lead us to want to sacrifice more for Him, to work toward being truly like Him.Being comfortable is not what life is about if we ever expect to grow into what God has planned for us. Yet patientlyHe waits for us as we take years to understand what Christ accomplished in three hours. And He loves us, fully, compassionately.

And so, I could share with you what my lenten promises are, and I could tell you that I've not been 100% successful, but that isn't the point of this season. Have I made myself uncomfortable enough so as to even begin to understand what sacrifice means? Most definitely not. The great news is that my lenten journey continues, even as I stumble. So pray for me, and I will pray for you, that we reach the Easter celebration with a bit more understanding, and a lot more love for our Father, who accepts all the gifts we bring Him, big or small.

Teaching these values to our preschoolers has also been a great journey. We began by making a crown ofthorns, and have talked about how every time we make a bad choice, we are putting more thorns into Christ's crown. With each good choice we make, we get to remove a thorn, and the goal is to have them all gone by Easter. We have also been doing a science experiment with caterpillars, and while this concept is a bit above them, I see so many similarities with a lenten journey. The caterpillars pig out, overindulging themselves. Next they go into a deep sleep and soon their bodies are shedding excess as they become enveloped in a chrysalis. Every now and then we see the chrysalides wiggle a bit, the change inside that compact space taking place. We look forward to seeing their beautiful transformation in a week or so, giving us hope that we, too, will someday be made perfectly beautiful, as long as we accept His invitation to the journey.