Last night, I was reflecting on my 1st day of Lent and I found myself feeling like Bilbo Baggins.
Initially caught up in the adventure of it all, then starting out and wondering "When is second breakfast?"
My lent practices are relatively simple -- deceptively so. The seem like no big deal. Totally manageable. And, I am glad to report, I did in fact make it through day one but it was harder than it seemed it would be and I'm looking at the long trail in front of me wondering if I should have ventured out of my cozy little hobbit hole at all.
Discipline 1: Drinking just water.
This I knew would be the hardest. I love drinks. Teas. Bubbly drinks. All the flavors. Fasting from the flavor would through off meals where I have a favorite drink that goes well with the food. Think, milk and chocolate. Water instead just doesn't hit the spot the same way.
What I forgot about was that even though I'm not a coffee drinker, I do get enough caffeine in a day to impact me and yesterday... I had a headache. I also got heartburn. The water didn't sit as well. And all my hobbit self wanted to do was curl up with a hot tea and milk and feel better.
Discipline 2: No Yelling
All the moms out there know that this is a tough one. I failed miserably last year and thought I would give it another go this time around. I realized I needed more preparation. You can't just say, I'm not going to yell and think that will work. Yelling actually serves a function. So, I needed to plan out alternative strategies for -- getting kids attention, getting kids to move when overly distracted, getting kids to stop when overly wound up, and blowing off my own steam when it gets to be too much.
Planning helped. I was able to use alternative strategies for most of the situations above. Although, this morning I briefly snapped because I was trying to get dressed for an important meeting and Miles persistently climbed on me begging to be held (after I had held him for a solid 20 minutes). So to do list item for today. Find a way to emotionally release when I just can't deal. Any and all suggestions welcome.
Discipline 3: Daily act of kindness
This also should be small. It shouldn't be very hard to do something kind for someone everyday. But I placed a few stipulations.
1. Can't be anyone in my immediate family. I am supposed to be doing kind things for them all the time.
2. Can't be work that I would otherwise have planned -- writing a nice report for a co-worker also doesn't count. I'm supposed to be a solid team player and do good work.
3. Can't be planning an act of kindness. Looking at cute ideas on Pinterest for cards I might send my sister-in-law doesn't count. I actually have to send her a card.
So, taking time out of my day to do something wholly and intentionally for another person who is not in my normal sphere of influence takes some planning (doing things for people I don't see all the time) and presence (taking the opportunities to carry someone's groceries). So far, it's been, but I can tell that daily for the whole of Lent is going to be a tall order.
Discipline 4: Faith focused media consumption
Of all the practices, this will probably be the easiest.
Turning on my Pandora hymns instead of Meghan Trainer.
Reading devotions rather than clicking random "look at these people 50 years ago" articles on facebook.
Takes thoughtfulness but I feel will be overall a helpful practice.
I am not an avid media consumer. I don't have much time for shows or much other regular media consumption. But I do have 5 minutes for youtube here and there. The random articles and the radio in the car. And even that limited amount of media contains a lot of messages. A lot of additional thoughts to circulate in my brain. And so, a bit of a fast from these things is a chance for my input to support the output.
39 more days...
No second breakfast or cozy hobbit holes to hide in.
Just an open road ahead of me. Calling me to experience the wildness of God.
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