Have you ever had a small thing have an oversized hold on your life? For example, do you have the urge to look at social media on your phone while you are at a red light? Do you get an urge to eat a snack or candy with every other thought? Maybe you wake up in the middle of the night wanting to play a game on your phone? Are you a smoker? There are so many different things that are thought to be small indulgences for some that can turn into a bigger deal for others.
Take my case. I am a Type 2 Diabetic who has a massive sweet tooth. My Diabetes is controlled through medicine under the care of my physician, but I still struggle to control myself when it comes to sugar. I keep a stash of candy in my desk at work, in my car, and in spots throughout my house. If I have the urge, it is easy to take advantage of the candy that seems to always be at my disposal. No matter what I try, I can’t stop eating candy. I’ve spent money on diets, personal trainers and gym memberships, and I’ve been threatened by doctors on what eating all that sugar does to my body. Still I reach for candy.
This is where Lent enters the conversation. You may be familiar with the concept of Lent. It is stereotypically practiced by Catholics who observe the time between Ash Wednesday and Easter as a time to reflect on their relationship with God. As part of this reflection, Catholics will often commit to a life change during this time period. It may be committing to given back to their community, doing random acts of goodness, or most often giving up something meaningful to their life. You may know that during Lent restaurants will sell more fish products than normal due to Catholics abstaining from eating meat. Legend has it that Lent was responsible for the Filet-O-Fish being introduced at McDonald’s.
Personally, I have adapted Lent to reflect giving up a habit for 40 days that has an oversized hold on my life. In the past this has been giving up social media, caffeine, french fries, or something else that I have found myself spending way too much time thinking about or doing during my every day life. Thinking of Lent in a religious sense says that I give up something that keeps me away from God. In my personal life, it is removing something that holds such power over me that it takes me away from my family, friends, and sometimes even work. Selfishly I see Lent as a time where I can prove to myself that these things are indeed small, and I can have the willpower and self control to remove something that I couldn’t remove from my life during other times.
I use my faith in God (or a higher power however you want to call it) to control my urge this year to eat candy. I have given up candy in an effort to do many things. Improve my Diabetes and personal health, save money, become closer to family and friends, prove to myself that I can do it, and yes – focus on my religious beliefs. The last thing can be described in many ways, but in the Christian faith it is often called an individual’s walk. At any time I am feeling a craving to eat candy, I can reflect on my personal walk through life. Do I want to let down my family, friends, myself, or God by eating candy? It seems silly to even ask that question, but I truly do not want to be that disappointment.
This is why it is so hard for a non-Catholic to explain why I practice Lent. Often it comes off sounding like a joke, or it can easily come off as a “holier than thou” type of explanation. By no means do I ever want to come off as either way. While it is easy to have a gallows type sense of humor about my own short comings, those short comings are indeed real. I have these weaknesses that I search for solutions to help fix. In my case this religious practice helps me to improve my life. Too often describing religious thoughts can come off as being too preachy or overly pushy. When I discuss my Lenten Promise, I am never trying to say I am better than anyone else. Neither am I trying to say that everyone should copy my actions or believe the way I believe. Instead I am just sharing that I am a flawed person, and this is something that I believe has been a great influence on my life.
If someone does experience a positive change through my story, I’m thrilled to hear it. If not, I’m just struggling to get people to understand why it is such a big deal for me to give up candy. That and it is nice to have accountability from others to help me in my efforts.
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