Second Sunday In Lent 2011

This was the first full week of Lent. I talked to many people this week who were honoring Lent by sacrificing or giving something up… sugar, potato chips, soda, etc. A few people were adding a behavior (reading scripture, being nice to people, etc.). Here was my week:

• Day 5: Pray for those who are burdened – Prayers abound for the people of Japan and people world wide who are affected by this disaster. I changed my Facebook Profile picture to include a prayer for the people of Japan.
• Day 6: Find the beauty in the everyday – I really do believe that beauty does exist in the everyday… My morning greeting is always “Good Morning Sunshine” and I’m really not talking about the weather. Although, I could be as we do get a lot of sunshine were in Southern California! The vistas of mountains, deserts, and coastal plains are always beautiful to me. I also find beauty in the rich multicultural diversity we have here.
• Day 7: Donate 5 items of clothing to Goodwill or the Salvation Army – This was kind of a no-brainer… we have clothing that hasn’t been worn for awhile, or doesn’t fit right, or no longer reflects our taste. So, we gather these things on a regular basis and donate (usually) to Salvation Army.
• Day 8: No Complaining day – This was an interesting choice… Actually, not complaining requires a commitment to living fully in the present and accepting what comes. The Serenity Prayer by Reinhold Niebuhr came to mind often today: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;  courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. The other interesting part of a “No Complaining Day” was not getting drawn into other people’s complaining.
• Day 9: Help someone with their tasks or chores – This was fairly straight forward too. Being helpful to others is always one of quirky behaviors that tends to work both ways; that is, if you are helpful to others, they tend to be helpful to you… The trick is to encourage others to accept help, and to be able to accept help ourselves.
• Day 10: Buy a few $5 food gift cards to donate to a shelter – I am not trying to sound trite, but it seems that some people are looking for a hand out and some are looking for a hand up. How do we tell the difference? Here in SoCal, it seems that every busy intersection has a person standing on the median with a sign stating that they are homeless, unemployed, need money for food, need money for family, etc. How do we know if these people really need that hand up to keep them going? I remember seeing a person on Duval Street in Key West displaying a sign that said: “I’ll be honest, I want a dollar for a beer.” So, I’ve taken to donating gift cards (like from Subway) because they are expressly intended to feed people.

Advertisement