40 Reflections #30: 40 days of raw recollections during the Lenten Season
Every night about this time (9:45-10:00 pm) our children are finally in bed. One tucked in with her Geometry homework blanketed over her, another listening to any sports event available on the radio, and finally our Rumpelstiltskin, engineering products upstairs and tossing them over the ledge to the living room upon completion for our review. This is also the time I sit down to write my Lenten Blog which has become a cathartic part of my day.
Within the last few months, I’ve heard this maxim numerous times:
Saying No to One Thing Means Saying Yes to Another
Throughout the last 30 days of Lent, I’ve made the decision to say yes to something I had only contemplated while staying home with my brood, during PTA meetings, working various jobs, making dinner, while praying, and definitely during my runs. Clearly, I had not mastered saying no to the non-stop activities our lives bring, until Lent began. At that point, I made the lofty decision to say yes to sharing my words, my family, and my take on it all, for 40 days. However, yin must have yang, so I had to say no to a few things to balance the yes. NO to sleep (overrated), NO to watching too much news, NO to picking up the book I’ve been grazing through for the last month, and NO to few things I’m forgetting due to lack of sleep.
The No’s in our lives are prevalent. When teaching today, I told a PreK student to clean up the Legos, and in a hearty southern tone, I received a “No, Ma’am!”. Sounds nice-r, but unless the Legos were southern and dipped in charm, they aren’t going to clean themselves up. At home, we typically don’t receive core-driven, spoken “No’s” just the lack of action that speaks louder than the two-letter exclamation. The teeth that aren’t brushed (no), the clothes strewn on bedroom floors (no), or the unwashed pan sitting on the counter (no). As parents, it’s taxing to parse through the no’s and understand what our children are saying yes to…freedom…independence…control?
We’re all searching for a heli-pad for our yes’s to land on. Yes to more prayer, hugs, kindness, family time, humility, plain old goodness, and deep hearty laughter. I’m grateful I said yes to sharing my story. It really is worth every. single. yawn.
