OK...so I know Lent season is over and everyone has puked Easter pictures everywhere (don't worry I will too...I'm just forever behind the times). Just for a refresher, I gave up Peanut butter for Lent and also chose to add praying every day/night. I kept a prayer journal and I absolutely loved doing that, I hope to keep the journal and pray every night. Now don't get me wrong I missed days/nights of praying but as a whole I was aware and for me that's important.
When all was said and done it was hard giving up peanut butter because I do like it so much but also because it is such an integral part of our food here. At least one person is eating it at some point, so I was always dealing with it. Very hard to not lick a knife or fingers while making lunches. My mantra "must not lick my fingers...must not...must not!" . I also had 4 little boys who enjoyed keeping me accountable and an ever constant reminder for me...No peanut butter for mom!
This was a good Lent for me and I haven't quite grasped what I prayed I would take away from this, but I hope to continue to think on it and look back on it and find different nuggets.
Who I am most proud of though is Ian. I told my boys about what I was doing and asked them if anyone wanted to join me in Lent this year. Ian took me up on this offer and to his credit, he stuck it out 40 days. He chose to give up caramel (Ian says it the fancy-to big for your britches-way) and chocolate. He did really good, he stayed aware of what he was eating and asking what was in things. We came across a few things where he had to decide what he meant by giving up chocolate...did that also mean white chocolate? Did that mean Hot chocolate too? It really got him thinking and I loved that!
A moment that really impressed me was when his 'lame' mom packed his lunch thinking she was packing it for Lee and not Ian. She packed a chocolate muffin and a chocolate & Peanut butter sandwich for him for lunch. He made an amazing choice...he chose to not eat those things and had a very, very small lunch. He stuck to his guns and that's what I'm going to take away from that. My baby is growing up and finding things out about himself and we are getting glimmers of the man he can grow up to be.
He was starving when he got home and I felt so bad! The worst part of it was I didn't even mix up the lunches like I thought I did...I just outright wasn't paying attention!
On a more important note...Easter has come and HE IS RISEN! So many opportunities for me to talk to the boys about what Easter is all about. I read the Easter story to the after we watched Passion of Christ (that title doesn't sound right but I can't think of it). We have started praying as a group in the morning, well try and remember...starting a habit takes time. Most of the time I just pray but they have prayed a time or two and it makes my heart warm. We are branching out and it's so important that I/we keep doing it, to grow.
This Lent was a most revealing one and growing one, glad I participated this year!
Thanks be to God!
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