Ash Wednesday has always been a secret favorite holiday of mine (yes I do realize putting something on the internet officially makes it no longer a secret, and that's cool with me.) I feel more of a sense of renewal on Ash Wednesday than I do on New Year's Day. I know attending and then working at a Catholic school added to my awareness of the day, but my love of the holiday began as a child. I remember thinking Easter would never come, and I would never get to do, eat or participate in XYZ again. And then it would come, and I was so proud of myself for doing XYZ. I just knew I could conquer the world if I could go 40(ish) days without chocolate or without french fries or without Punky Brewster.
I do still love the feeling of accomplishment that comes with fasting from something during Lent, but I find I am more thankful and prouder of myself when I have attempted to "feast" on something. In essence, in recent years I've attempted to celebrate Lent as more than just a season of the without and to celebrate the season as a time of the with...a season of time with friends, time with family and most importantly time with God.
Anyhoo, several friends have done some sort of "thankful" project on their blogs, and following the thankful posts has been inspiring to me. Thinking of something or someone to be thankful for every day is such a positive, uplifting and with experience. I've decided to give it a go, and celebrate my thankfulness every day this Lenten season.
Day One - I am thankful for my faith. I will share most anything with anyone, but I don't tend to talk about my faith much outside of my faith communities (my Sunday school class and my bible study group mainly.) And even in my faith communities I tend to keep my comments pretty high level because if I talk about anything too personal or too risky, my voice gets really shaky and I may even cry (oopsie - spoiler alert on me, spoiler alert on me.) And I mean what gal risks crying in public if she can help it? (Unless she has either just won Miss America or is watching a deliciously girlie and sappy movie.) Anyhoo, back on point...my relationship with God is something I am thankful for every single day. I thank God for creating opportunities for me to grow in His word, and I hope to know God better and better and better.
Cheers to a journey of thankfulness!
p.s. I will also be posting a picture daily; most likely the picture will be of William. He's just so stinking cute, and I am thankful for him and his daddy every day without any question whatsoever. :)
William and Me just enjoying life!
William in the recent Arkansas snow - wowzers!
Big William Smile
Oh, my, Punky Brewster, I haven't thought about her in a long time, M-M. What a beautiful entry you have written about Lent...finished off with pictures of an adorable young William!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the start of the blog; it will be a fun journey for all of us! GiGi