Saturday, March 5, 2011

Upcoming Lent

Good morning, from an early Saturday!  Slept in a few minutes and was up at 0630 today.  I'm sitting with my oatmeal and it's about 7am.  I'll be heading to market soon to stock up for the next week.  I just can't wait for eggs! :)

Let me preface the rest of this conversation by saying Lent is just around the corner (commencing with Ash Wednesday next week).  Most people are quite familiar, but just in case... it's 40 days, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Monday.  One characteristically gives up something for Lent, to try to bring them closer to God (and if one is astute, uniting their suffering with His), but one can also "take up" something as well; perhaps by including a newer, more positive task they've been meaning to (having a better prayer life, dedicating more time to the needy, or what have you.  It can be anything).

The past 2-3 years I try to give up swearing (with another task I decide for that year).  For 40 days of the year, I try not to be a potty mouth.  Yes it sounds silly and I'm quite sure it is, but when you use expletives as much as I do for a simple stress relief, it gets quite challenging.  But my second task dawned on me in a very instant, dramatic sort of way last night (picture the heavens opening, a light shining down and the choral, "Aaahhhh" being heard) - I'm giving up meat for Lent.  Me.  Meat.  For Lent.  I mean, I have meat like, 3-7 times a week.  As much as I'm in shock over it, it feels right.  Here's why....

a) My health.  I've been curious about going vegetarian for a while now to see how it'll affect my G.I system (and the rest of me, for that fact).

b) I'm dedicating this part of my Lent to T. (my friend/co-worker in CCU who's still not doing well).  She's a big health advocate and I think she'd totally be behind me if I decided to try it.  I will also unite my suffering with hers and all the obstacles she currently faces and will face in the future.

So.. I'm going to need your support (and understanding for the days I come on here and whine about it.. lol).  Though I need to have faith that He will give me the strength I need to be as successful with this as possible.  I usually just observe the no-meat-on-Fridays rule during Lent (and that's hard at times), so this will be a doozy.  Oh no!  What about when I go out for breakfast with friends?!  No eggs and bacon!  :O  Omelette it is......sigh.....

5 comments:

Ange said...

If I may add a point of clarity for the sake of your breakfasts. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are allowed to eat eggs, milk and cheese. You'd only have to give up omelettes if you were going to go vegan.

Perovskia said...

Very true. I thought about to what degree I wanted to practice the vegetarianism. I'm JUST excluding meat - other animal products will be okay (milk, eggs, cheese etc). No way is this girl going vegan :)

screamish said...

been on a low GI diet for a month or so and I'm semi vegetarian..it is hard to keep up the proteins, have to eat lots of dhal and lentil type things. lucky for my i still eat free range chicken so we've been having loads of that...lots of nuts, cashews...and tofu...eggs...vegan low GI would be pretty hard, i reckon...

hydra said...

It won't be easy, but at least you can say you are truly making a sacrifice. I often have fruit and yogurt for breakfast with some toasted pine nuts on top and a drizzle of honey. Glorious!

Perovskia said...

Screamish - How's the low GI treating you? I need to try the same sometime, to be honest. I'm not used to eating a lot of lentils, so that'll be hard for me to start. I'm going to miss my chicken. I think vegan low GI would be hard, too.

Hydra - That breakfast sounds good! I love fruit and yogurt (as a filling mid-morning snack, actually).

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