Today a lady I work with came into my office, plopped down in a chair and said to me - You're Catholic, right? [Yes... I am.] She continues... So tell me what lent means to you. I know you went and got ashes and stuff, but what does it mean? It took me a few minutes of stumbling to finally get out a good (or decently good) answer that I was happy with, meanwhile trying to decide if she was testing me, or curious, or what? So finally she proceeds to tell me about how she saw on TV today that they were giving out ashes at drive-through churches in Callifornia and how she just didn't understand how that could be meaningful. [Agreed.] Unfortunatly, it's times like these were I find myself defending my religion and trying to convince the non-catholic world that "we're not all really weird, we just have some different traditions that seem weird." [Drive-through ashes not being one I am familier with. ha!] After she left my office, I started to wonder whether what I said made her feel like I was really a legit catholic or just making something up. It was then that I decided to spend a little more time really trying to live my values (and catholic upbringing) rather than just telling people about it. I'm much more effective at doing then telling.
This gave me a little minute to also reflect on how I react in everday life... sometimes it's hard for me to explain things or put them into words, but if you just trust me - I will show you. I'm like that in my work, my home, my everyday life in general. I am a do'er, not really a shower... if that makes any sense at all. I'm constantly asking myself, why is this so hard for 'person x' to understand? Maybe I'm just not really good at explaining things... I think this may be someting I work on this lent. Patience and putting my actions into words. Wish me luck!
As for my lent sacrifice - as always, sweets are gone bye-bye for 40 days, but this year I also added beef. ...and I decided to take something on as well (as if I need anything else to do), but I think this will be good for my health. I have decided to get up an extra 30 minutes early to take a little time to start my day off right, whether that's reading a good book, catching up on news, or just enjoying a yummy cup of joe in my chair - it gives me time to wake up and great the day! So far, so good. Day 2 and we have success! We'll see how the next 38 go!
Until Tomorrow~
xo, Tracy
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