"Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy." -- Pope FrancisI will fully admit that Francis' papacy is my favorite so far, so my choosing this quote from him shouldn't be all that surprising. But it may be strange that, as a former-Catholic-now-Pagan, I'm quoting a pope at all, right?
His words spoke to me, though, in a way that the Catholic religion hasn't in quite some time, and I realized that, even though I don't associate with the Catholic church anymore, I can still take its teachings and apply them to my own life.
I've been in a real funk recently, a new mama rut where every day is lived not to the fullest, but with a desire to just get through another hour, another minute. In the process, I've neglected myself and my husband in physical, mental, and emotional ways. So this Lent, while I may not observe the practices of penance, repentance of sin, or atonement (after all, being a non-Christian who doesn't believe in the concept of sin, it's kind of difficult to do any of these!), I will look to other practices this Lenten season.
- Prayer: Meditation, in my case. Giving myself a few minutes each day to reflect on life, how I'm living it, and how I can make each day better. Hopefully this will help me feel closer to the Divine and create a better, less lethargic life.
- Almsgiving: Giving all of myself to my son and my husband, who both deserve all of me at my best and with willingness to give a part of myself. This means occasionally stepping out of my comfort zone to do so... casting away tiredness for their benefits.
- Self-denial: Probably the part of Lent that most people know about, giving up of something to grow spiritually. This year, I'm giving up the bathroom scale and gluttony, as they've both caused me to focus too much on a number than how I feel or to feel less "lethargic".
Hopefully, by the time Easter comes around (which will be celebrated as a belated Ostara and Purim for us!), I'll have pulled myself out of this rut and experienced what it means to give your whole self to others... and to those who, at least in my life, need and deserve it the most. :)
Oh, and a bit selfishly, maybe I'll lose a few pounds in the process. Ha!
How will you honor yourself and others this Lenten season?
I feel you sister. When I had my girls I felt like I had pushed my hubby away cause I was always tired and didn't want to be bothered. So I understand completely.
ReplyDeleteIt sucks, doesn't it? You try so hard and it just... pfft. Nothing. I've read in a few different articles that it's incredibly common for this feeling to last up to a year post-partum, so that's reassuring, but asking a hubs to wait that long is, at least to him, cruel and unusual punishment. ;)
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