Tis the season of deprivation

I'm certain you are all bemoaning the advent of this holiday season: Lent is upon us. We did our best last evening to finish up what desserts remained in the house, as well as anything remotely intoxicating. This was just our way of embracing Fat Tuesday.

I wonder if Jesus over-exercised His God-ness the day before He came to be born. Do you think so? Maybe he was all creating new life forms, or something, in anticipation of limited powers for the next 33 years, or so.
I guess it was more likely the day before He was conceived (which would blow the minds of abortion activists if that's the case)...what with the argument over when life begins.
But, if He wasn't growing in Mary's belly, I just don't know who was.

We have practiced Lent for years. It is the forty day fast in anticipation of Easter. We each chose to give up something-or-other as a daily reminder of all that Jesus gave up to come live a mortal life.
It's usually not a Protestant thing, but I actually like the discipline.
This year I am abstaining from both alcohol and desserts.
This is likely to make my evenings dull. I don't even know what to do without a handful of chocolate covered almonds, dark chocolate with sea salt, or a glass of wine.
I'll probably get to bed earlier. I may even drop those persistent pounds.

Knowing that there is a stretch of deprivation before me just makes me want something all the more. There are Girl scout cookies in the pantry. This is not a helpful thought.


It's an interesting discipline, this going without.
How often I finish a meal with some small sweet. It's common to relax with a libation at the end of a day.
These little things become habits, and habits put down roots.
Lent serves as a barometer of sorts, to bring into clarity just how much of a hold a particular habit has upon my life. One year I gave up meat, One year I gave up simple starches (bread, rice, pasta). I know people who have given up social media.
By far, the most revealing for me has been alcohol. I am always astonished to find how difficult it is to go without it for so long. Not only is it at seemingly all the events I attend, but it's deeply rooted in the culture.
It's deeply rooted in my culture, anyway.
I am also usually struck by how easy it is to go without it....contradictory, I know. It's just one of those things were both are true at the same time.
I don't need it to make a meal fancy, nor to linger over a conversation, nor to cope with an overwhelming day. When it's not an option, I am mindful of how frequently it normally is an option.
I suppose the same realizations occurred with other elements of my diet. I eat meat at almost every meal. Is that even good for a body? And simple starch? Ugh.

I wonder if Jesus missed those parts of His Deity that He did without for so many years. With all the miracles we read about, I wonder how much He actually did without. Some, surely.

He made wine, at that wedding in Cana. I'll bet it was mighty good stuff. I wonder if He ever made Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds with Sea Salt, just as a secret treat for His disciples? Like, Poof, "You guys gotta try this stuff." I would have, had I been He.