Giving Up

The bottom fell out. The temperature had fallen 15 degrees in 30 minutes.  The weather is not predictable. What began as hopeful, early spring day was ending in a downpour. Clouds rolled in heavy and black.  Rain was falling in sheets. Thunder and lightening.  He came running off the ball field, drenched, splattered in red North Carolina clay.  He threw his bat bag in the trunk.  He jumped in the front seat gulping Gatorade.  And then he paused...By now I should know that a deep thought that only a thirteen year old can have is about to be verbalized...but it still catches me off guard.
  "So, mom what did you give up for Lent?"  To be honest I fail at Lent.  I had considered giving up peanut butter cookies from Subway and yes this would be a sacrifice for me.  I eat about 3 a day at work.  They know me by name at the Subway at the hospital.  They fix my order before I ask.  Peanut butter cookies are my addiction.  If the day is real, real stressful, I have been known to eat 6. 
I guess I should clarify at this point.  I am a nurse on an oncology unit.  I remember when I graduated from nursing school two decades ago, I asked my head nurse, "Can I expect to cry everyday?"  Her reply, "Honey, sometimes twice." Being an ugly crier I had to think of something to blunt the emotional toil nursing takes.  I have changed my emotional food addictions over my career from coffee to Twinkies, coffee again to Payday candy bars, back to coffee again to peanut M&Ms.  I became caffeine free about 7 years ago.  About 6 years ago I found peanut butter cookies from Subway.  You get my point. 
So, when my son asked the question, I immediately responded peanut butter cookies.  It was the fourth day of Lent, I had already eaten 6 peanut butter cookies.  Thus far, I was failing Lent.  Then he asked another question.  "Well mom, what is the point of that?  Does God care if you eat peanut butter cookies?  Wouldn't God rather you do something that means something?"
How do kids do that?  How do they manage in just a few words to cut to the quick, expose you and your need to be saved again and again from ourselves?  I suspect it has something to do with their ability to be blatantly honest.  They haven't learned the fine art of illusion just yet.  They haven't learned how to wear masks just yet or to cover up all their flaws, their messes, their fears, their shortcomings.  I am not sure when one begins to learn the art of illusion but it takes a lifetime to unlearn it.
"Well, son, I suppose you are right. God really doesn't care what I eat.  But, the purpose behind giving up something for Lent is to replace it with a spiritual discipline of some sort.  The purpose really is to take something up that will make you grow and sometimes that is just hard to do."
"Well, that stinks," he said.  "I haven't given anything up yet, but I want to.  I am already four days late. My friend told me today he is giving up Mountain Dew and my other friend said he was giving up Face book.  I am pretty sure God doesn't expect that."
"Oh and by the way Mom, what did Jesus give up for Lent?"
And I always fall into the trap just about here.  I began to give him a lovely explanation of the tradition of Lent going back to the sixth century.  After my 10 minute explanation of ancient Christian practices, he stops me mid sentence.
"So basically what you are saying, Jesus gave up his life so we could make room in our life for more life."
My stomach knotted up.  Tears welled up in my eyes and threatened to fall down.  Where are those cookies when I need them?  How simple that was.  How simple.  Giving up life to have life.  Giving up things to have life and have life abundantly.  And it is so simple a 13 year old understands it. Lent means life.
"You know Mom, I think for Lent I will learn scripture. Wouldn't that work?  I can do that  once a week. Isn't that like giving up?  I mean I would have to give up about 30 minutes to learn it.  But let's start out very short.  Not too hard. And how many weeks are there?"  
I almost began the metaphorical explanation again but I stopped short.  Just 6 weeks.
Redeeming time to have more life.  Learning the word of life to have more life.
We continued our drive home, laughing at the wind and the rain, and the mud.  I can't think of better way to spend Lent.  Giving up life to have more life.  And I still get to keep the peanut butter cookies. 

May you have life and life abundantly kindest friends.