itsawonderfilledlife

As this is my first year ever participating in the giving up of something for Lent, I thought I would share about the process in writing.

Okay,

Lets get real!

I am writing about it, so that I am accountable to not give up early …

I am so week!

Deciding what my symbolic sacrifice for this season was not easy.

I considered chocolate, but I do not eat it daily, so I didn’t think it was enough of a sacrifice.

I considered wine, but my only daily wine is spelled w-h-i-n-e, and that would be difficult to acknowledge when I do it, because, I probably whine far more than I actually realize.

I considered giving up writing, but through my preparations I have my daily devotions.

I considered giving up my morning coffee, but it is those around me who would be making that sacrifice.

I was through my consideration of giving up coffee that I found my sacrifice …

cream in my coffee.

I love my morning coffee. One cup. Freshly ground. Steaming black poured into creamy white, to the perfect shade of warm brown. Ah, that first sip! warm. creamy. satisfying.

The night before I fill the machine with fresh water, measure the beans into their cup, and set the timer. Anticipation begins the moment I set that timer.

Some mornings I awaken before my alarm, before the heart-stopping whirl of the beans being ground, and lay in bed, in eager anticipation of that first sip.

Obviously this daily ritual is one I truly love and enjoy. It is daily and I love it! So it seemed the best ‘sacrifice’ to make.

“The joy has left my life!”

I have to humbly admit, that the above six words were exactly my thoughts that first day, that first morning of Lent.

Coffee without the cream is terrible! It does not look right, it does not smell right, it does not feel right in your mouth, and it does not taste right!

I chose the right thing to give up … because it hurt.

So for this first week of Lent, I have started each day with a cup of hot, black coffee … and I have not enjoyed it one bit! With each sip of it, I have said in my mind,

“thank-you”

Thank-you to God, for the real sacrifice of his son. Cream in my morning coffee pales in comparison to that sacrifice.

“And a voice from heaven said,
“This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.””
Matthew 3:17