We are in the first week of the season of Lent. As you know it begins with Ash Wednesday. There were 20 of us gathered in the sanctuary for the service last Wednesday. The late winter afternoon was warmed by the brilliant setting sun that shone in the west window of the sanctuary. Ash Wednesday is one of my favourite services. There is something so precious about being reminded how beloved we are in the heart of our creator and that for 40 days we can deepen and rest in that love. I was especially grateful on that Wednesday afternoon. Just days before I had received word that my house had sold -the offer firmed up, and then within a couple of days I had put in an offer on a house and so from my limbo state of a few weeks ago (a state that felt to go on for ever) I was now feeling an increasing state of relief. I have so much to be thankful for. I am keenly anticipating my relocation this summer.
On Ash Wednesday, resting in that feeling of gratitude, I entered into the traditional discipline of Lent. This means marking the days by making a commitment to “give something up” or “take something up”, for forty days. Forty days can seem like a long time or it can feel like it goes by in a flash depending on your perspective and what it is you are doing. Giving up chocolate, wine, a favourite video game – ouch – forty days can feel like forever. I have tried it all – giving up watching television to taking up daily letter writing – every year is different. Some years I am successful and some years I am not. Some years the weeks fly by. Some years it is a grind.
This year I have decided to give up grumbling. That’s right – you read it! Many of you dear readers know that I am a grumbler. And even though I know it is not a good habit, I do it anyway. I grumble about the weather – really what is the point of that? I grumble about other drivers on my way to and from the church – does that help? I grumble about technology – even though I use it constantly. I grumble about prices, politicians, preachers, and pastimes. But not today. I did not grumble. I wanted to, I started to, I took a breath and then said, “I can’t say anymore about that, I gave up grumbling for Lent.” I think this will be a good practice for me. Biting my tongue. Holding back. Thinking before I speak. Being positive or, at the very least, not being negative. Oh, it’s gonna be tough. I come from a long line of grumblers. But hey, it’s only for forty days. Easter will break through the dismal days of Lent and I will then be able to grumble all the way to the Easter buffet table and all the while I eat my Easter eggs. Or maybe God will work another Easter miracle and I will give up grumbling not just for Lent but with a new perspective in life. That waits to be seen but for now – you won’t hear a grumble out of me. No you won’t!
I come from a strong line of Lenten Observers, which for a long time involved giving up something precious or what was deemed to be precious at that time. Somehow my parents decided that giving up something was relatively easier that doing something “extra” for which there was no immediate reward. It could be one simple thing but out of the ordinary and was scrutinized by my parents. So it took some effort & soul searching, and was indeed harder as there no true guidelines: no candy/chocolate had definitions. Extra took imagination and creativity. But it did re-affirm/confirm that the extra that Jesus did for us was the ultimate extra. And the gratitude for that “extra” remains firm still.