Where's My Focus?

I had given Lent a lot of thought over the last couple of weeks, but it was yesterday (Ash Wednesday) that my inner dialogue became quite entertaining.

6 am. I should make the kids go to mass this morning so they have ashes during school and be shining examples of a proud Catholic.  No, that would be really hard for them in public school.  But does that make me a bad parent for not choosing to make them little martyrs for Christ? How else will they learn?  I can't be that mean.  We'll just go tonight.

7am. Hmmm, no coffee.  I guess I'll have to have tea instead.  Maybe coffee would be a good thing to give up for Lent.  Hey, this tea is good and I'm not missing the coffee at all.  I guess giving up coffee isn't a good enough sacrifice. I will think of something else.  Wine, perhaps?

10am This fasting business is hard.  I'm staaaaarrrrrrving.  Well, I will just have a Slimfast and hopefully I will lose weight at the same time I'm fasting for God.  Lose weight? What is this?  A second chance at a New Year's Resolution?  Hey, that would make a good blog post.
                              Lent: More than a New Year's Resolution.

12pm: I should really think about ideas for this blog post. Like how our sacrificing and doing extra shouldn't be about us, but about growing closer to God.  Lent can end up being a benefit in our secular world....like losing weight or making us feel good about ourselves, rather than focusing our hearts and minds on God.  Yeah, something along those lines.  Comparing Lent to a New Year's resolution can't be an original idea.  I should Google it to see if it's been done.

5pm.  Dang, it's been done.  Oh well.  There are plenty of good blog posts by other bloggers that will inspire everyone to have a purposeful Lent.  That one from Dwija is fantasic.  And Kathryn said it pretty great as well.

6pm Am I wrong to make Billy go to stage crew while the rest of us are going to mass?  I believe for him, going to stage crew is the bigger sacrifice in this case.  And it's not a holy day of obligation.  Yes, he's going to stage crew.  But wait, he'll have to get picked up right when mass is letting out.  I'll have to leave right after communion.  I can't do that.  I don't see another way around it. 

7:45pm  Wow, Monsignor is spot on with this homily.  Just what I was going to say in the blog post that never was.  "Wake up call" YES! "He wants our hearts." YES! 

7:55pm Man, that's big.  I hope my ashes don't look like hers.  I wonder if these ministers of ashes purposely make them bigger on people they don't like.

8:20pm.  People are looking at me leaving before mass is over.  Maybe if I look ill it will make it all okay in their minds. 

10pm.  There's only one glass of wine left in that bottle.  I should drink it now so it's not tempting me for the next 39 days.  Yeah, I'll do that.


And that's about how my mind works, my friends.  I have a lot of work to do.  Maybe guiding the kids in their Lenten experience may help.  So this morning I was filling a basket with ideas for Lent for the kids to choose from each day.  I came up with this little poem.

May you all have a purposeful Lent!