I am not going to get all preachy on my blog. In the spirit of full disclosure, I am a cradle Catholic, and love a majority of the tenets behind my faith. I find a great deal of comfort in the rites and rituals and believe you "gotta have faith, or you fall". That's a Jim Morrison quote for anyone who is interested. But I also have a theory on religion, I believe that God appears to us in a way that makes sense to us and will make us believe and be the best followers, and subsequently, people we can be. It explains religious diversity in my humble opinion. I don't believe that my Jewish sister-in-law is going to Hell for not believing in Christ the way I do, nor do I believe my dear friend Noureen is wrong in her faith in Allah. I think we're all praying to the same Being, however we do. God is no fool, and He knows how to get people to follow.
But back to my original thought on Lent. I decided this Lent to do what I have done in years past. I am not giving up anything, but I am doing something meaningful, and hopefully makes a small difference in a good way. This year I am practicing one random act of kindness each day. It was as simple as letting someone in the carpool line in front of me, at the ever hairy Cosby High School traffic fiasco, that was trying to get in and no one was letting. One small gesture made this mom's morning a little easier. Like I said, it is just a mess in front of that school most mornings, good luck surviving the mayhem. So maybe this mom goes ahead with her day a little more relaxed and pays it forward right? A chain reaction of good, little gestures could happen here. And that's my goal with my Lenten promise. I want to make a positive difference in someone's life every day.
Then I get thinking on Fridays as I am fasting and abstaining from meat, wow this is tough. It hurts to not eat enough and I think of all the kids in this country that go to bed hungry every night. I remember the article I read about how not all kids love a snow day like mine do. That it means they're not getting their breakfast and lunch at school, probably the only two meals they will get that day. Is my donating food, and money to food pantries enough? I guess maybe I need to examine this a little more and see if I can squeeze more time out of my week and see if I can donate some of my time too...it could work with my random acts of kindness. It also falls nicely within one of the basic tenets of Lent, alms giving. I'll pray that I can find the time.
I guess this leads me back to another pillar of Lent which is prayer. I pray, a lot. Dear God, please keep me from flogging my child, crosses my mind at least once a day hahaha! But seriously, I have so much to be thankful for, I thank God every day for all that I have. For giving me the ability to reach goals, take care of my family the way I do, for letting my eyes see every morning I open them, and legs walk when my feet touch the ground. It's the little things that mean so much....
Which brings me back to my Lenten promise this year. I tried explaining to my daughter why such a little act of kindness could make a difference for someone. Hopefully it made sense to her.
And hopefully I make a small difference every day in someone's life....
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