I've been getting into a little more of a routine with my blog posts, and I'll admit it's been a lot of fun. I really enjoy sitting down and drafting a quick little message for y'all. It's relaxing and also, in some way, liberating. It's sort of like setting my thoughts free, and I hope you enjoy reading them. As always, comments are welcome. I'd love to start conversations about some of these things.

Alright, so onto today's topic. I don't know if I've talked about this on here yet, but I'm Catholic and as a Catholic, I celebrate Lent. While not every Christian celebrates this season, there are a lot of different non-Catholic denominations that do. I'm not an expert on Lent and you can find some better explanations of it here and here, but the biggest thing to know is that it's a time of fasting to mourn the death of Christ and prepare ourselves for His rising, which is celebrated on Easter. It's a huge season of personal growth where people are encouraged to challenge themselves to develop in new ways and move toward a holier and more meaningful existence.

Even as a little girl, before I fully understood all that, I enjoyed and looked forward to Lent. I remember attending CCD—which stands for Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and is a weekly afterschool program for Catholic children not attending Catholic private schools—and I remember that the week before Ash Wednesday, everyone would ask each other "What are you giving up for Lent?" And I remember feeling excited. I think there's something about challenge that has always invigorated me, and maybe invigorates everyone, and I was excited about this opportunity to choose something to give up for Lent that would be really meaningful.

In case you aren't familiar with the concept, the idea is that, since it's a season of fasting, you are supposed to select something to give up for 40 days in order to bring yourself closer to God. Some things I remember giving up as a child were candy, TV, and video games. As I've gotten older, I've started to really lean into this idea of challenging myself to grow toward God. I'll spend a few hours each year perusing different articles online to figure out the perfect thing to give up for Lent, because I want it to be meaningful. Not only that, but I want to feel different when Easter arrives. I want to feel changed.

Something I've realized through all this is that the best things to give up for Lent are typically the things I don't want to give up. Last year when I was trying to decide what to give up, my boyfriend suggested I give up putting so much sugar in my coffee. ***Aside: I've always had a sweet tooth, but back in the day (aka the 2019-2020 school year) I was putting a lot of sugar and creamer in my coffee. I'd put up to 5 sugar cubes in a cup or a huge slosh of creamer and it just was not healthy, but I couldn't make myself stop.*** Anyway, my boyfriend suggested that I stop putting so much sugar and I remember kind of brushing him off and saying "Nah, that's not what I need to give up." 

But the truth of the matter is that's not what I wanted to give up. Luckily, I realized I was getting in my own way. I gave up putting sugar and milk in my coffee and tea for 40 days, and boy oh boy was it a struggle. I went through sugar withdrawal and everything. But it really tested me, and I really turned toward God in those moments of temptation. I celebrated the opportunity to indulge in a latte on Sundays (Sundays are not fasting days because they're celebrations of Christ's resurrection). And now it's been a full year since that Lent and I still drink my coffee black. It was a Lent that changed the way I live my life.

So I wanted something similar for this Lent. And I sort of ran into a similar issue where what I needed to give up for Lent was not what I wanted to give up. I scrolled through countless blog posts about "10 Things to Give Up for Lent" or "What You Should Give Up for Lent This Year," and I kept on seeing the idea of giving up using streaming services. But in these past few months, I became heavily reliant on streaming services. In January, I moved to a new city in Texas for an internship through my university, and being in a new place where I didn't really know anyone has been quite a challenge. Netflix and ABC's The Bachelor were my solace in it all, and I couldn't imagine what I would do when I got home from work exhausted and couldn't watch Netflix while eating or cooking.

So I did not want to give up streaming services. I'm pretty sure I read more than ten different articles that mentioned it, but I was still just like "nope." Finally, somehow, in some way, I recognized my own resistance and I made the connection between how I felt about giving up streaming services and how I felt about giving up sugar and creamer last year. I realized it was what I needed to do.

So here we are, three weeks into Lent and I think I made the right decision. That's not to say it's been easy giving up streaming services. I mean, the first Monday of Lent was actually pretty rough for me. I was tired from work and all I wanted, more than anything, was to get home and watch The Gilmore Girls while eating the cookies my boyfriend sent me for Valentine's Day from Tiff's Treats.

But somehow I stayed strong and watched some YouTube videos instead, and looking back I know that's exactly what needed to happen (I'll make a post soon about some of the YouTubers who have changed my life in these past few weeks). Giving up streaming services has given me back hours of time in the evenings. I'm studying more for my teacher certification exam (which is coming up soon), I'm cooking nicer, healthier, more delicious dinners, and I'm ultimately just using the limited time I have each evening in a more productive way.

So anyway, that's my update on Lent. Do you celebrate it? Why or why not? And if so, what have you decided to give up and how's it going?

Stay focused, stay disciplined, and as always, stay lavender!

Love,

- Theresa