Forty days is not a terrible time to do without something and yet it’s enough time to change you. Most people who observe Lent work on a bad habit…they give up beer or desserts. Those missing calories are rarely a sacrifice to anyone; they certainly don’t make us experience hunger. I hit upon a couple of different ideas: giving up my pillow, giving up warm water for showers and giving up the snooze button on my alarm clock. Now, those are real sacrifices. The snooze button is the easiest. I considered the warm shower this morning, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. So that leaves the pillow tonight. There are many people in the world who have no bed… this is merely giving up the comfort of a pillow. How might that affect my heart or my capacity for compassion 40 days from now? What if you took a cold shower for 40 days? Could you do it without thinking of people who have no clean water to shower with?
I also like the idea of committing to do something positive for 40 days and that was much easier to arrive at; it hurts less. I’m going to write a letter a day to 40 friends or family telling them how they make my life better – maybe acknowledging their gift to the world, maybe offering an encouraging word where one is needed, I suppose a ‘love letter’ if you will. I’m going to lift someone up every day for 40 days.
By the way, Pope Francis suggests that we “fast from indifference towards others” this year... in case you want to align with the Vatican!