Febulous Fat Tuesday

So it's Fat Tuesday.
Or Mardis Gras.
Or Paczki Day.
... or a day where some people eat pancakes.
.... or a day where some people decide to what to give up for lent.

That's just cute, righ? And mildly reminiscent of the ads in the
St.Stephen's bulletin. 

I live a life steeped in tradition. For better or for worse I am acutely aware that who I am is largely a prodcut of who I come from and what they do. [see my thoughts on the Southside Irish]. Well. I grew up Catholic, and we "did" lent. [I say "do" lent because apparently some people don't do lent... whatever that means.] During the entirety of my childhood, today was the last day to get your fill [of whatever you were giving up for lent...pop, gum, swears, beer, baked goods- you name it we gave it up] and tomorrow was Ash Wednesday,  it was meatless, solemn and devoid of vices [which one is not like the other?].



...what does that mean for me as an adult? What does my Lent look like?

... and isn't Lent just for Catholics and Hipsters?

Please Google "Lent", you won't be disappointed.

Some people give things up for lent, others try to add something new into their routine to get closer to God and form new habits in anticipation of the Resurrection. There are people who go to fish frys, start bible studies and some who fast [i call them super human, i like to eat].

Then there's me. I used to give up pop every year, I've tried to give up smoking, and freshman year of college I even gave up Facebook. This year for lent, Baby Girl Brice [BGB] is giving up swear words. [kind of a big deal. you can read about "the other f word in my life" here] Not because it makes me holy, or because my mom made me [true story: giving up something for lent was  required as a kid] ... just because. It will be like a fast for my mouth. Maybe I'll learn to think before I speak, maybe I'll say kinder words. Maybe I'll come up with less profane, more creative insults. who knows.

I hope that going swear free for forty days will make me aware of the rich tradition that I'm a part of by following Jesus, and the part of that tradition that prepares for Easter [which i've equated to Jesus' debutant ball] in an intentional way. The tradition that believes Jesus is here and His work is ongoing- and that our Hope arrived on this earth and brought a new way. The tradition that believes He brought the kingdom of God to a bunch of ragamuffins who were totally clueless [and my guess- totally swear-ful] by eradicating sin and death from life as we know it, by laying down his life on a cross.
There is nothing I could do to truly grasp what the resurrection means, that this love came and moved in with us, took the trash out for us and said, "there's a better way to live." 

 I hope this little tiny thing [no swears] will make me feel a little more connected to that big thing [death and Resurrection] by a change of consciousness, not because there's no room for swears in the kingdom of God. 





What about you, how do you "do" or "don't do" lent? Are you giving something up this year?