Ra-in-Seattle

(via writeoneleaf)

On the second day of Lent,

I woke up and regretted missing Quest’s Ash Wednesday morning service. The night before I planned my bus route: 6:21am from Campus Pkwy Bay 4, 20 minutes to Interbay, 9 minutes walk to church. Return route: reverse. My alarm rang twice, thrice. Groggy-eyed, it still looked dark outside. Bizarrely, I thought of the dangers of Mexico City and fell back to sleep.

This is the first year I’ve had anything to do with Lent, apart from hearing of the tradition from a distance, a “Catholic” thing we “Christians” don’t observe. I never heard about it growing up in church. But I’m finding my concept of what it means to follow Christ crumbling as the days pass.

Funnily enough, I debated what to give up this Lent season with Jon and Bridget - friends who don’t even believe in a God, any God.

Debate: Sweets? Too easy. Meat? Too hard. Unhealthy food? Too hard. Lunch? Too hard. Alcohol? TOO HARD. Fried food? But my American burgers and fries??!! Wendy’s 99c chicken nuggets!!!??

Jon: “Why don’t you just NOT do it? Since you find it either too hard or easy. Just pick something really specific and give up carbonated drinks or something…”

I think Ash Wednesday felt more like Fat Tuesday to me - I have a fine pot belly now since being on this land, and Village Sushi’s delicious but overpriced Hanabi Roll wasn’t sufficient for my dinner. I ate Bridget’s leftover pasta, drank Oregon Chai, munched on ‘cherries’ and ‘candy’, then badgered Felipe to bring some Top Ramen noodles for us.

I did my laundry this morning and decided I would skip the meat, go vegetarian, give those french fries and fried foods a miss… and suffer. Then I returned to my room and read about how Lent isn’t really about self-denial, but transformation.. who am I becoming? How is He changing me? And what clings to me like Glad wrap? This excess food I’ve been gorging on… America, you will be the obesity of me…