The first month, after the initial adjustment, was all right. But now the caffeine deprivation is eating at me, and I don’t know if I’ll make it through this last week-and-a-bit. I know I could take up coffee, but I don’t want to, for reasons too various to go into. Anyway, coffee wouldn’t meet my most pressing need, because it’s a hot beverage. I want something cold that goes down easy and doesn’t leave a sticky aftertaste. Water isn’t doing it, somehow. I don’t think I’ve had my thirst fully quenched since I started this.
I haven’t suffered from drinking fruit juice, not in itself, anyway. I already liked lemonade and limeade, and I recently discovered that grape juice isn’t the kiddie special I’d thought it was. But I don’t want just juice. Next week, Mr. Rilch and I are going back to Vegas, and I know the desert air is going to sorely test my willpower. I think I could forgo alcohol more easily than I could forgo diet Pepsi.
I’m going to hunt down that Kosher Coca-Cola and indulge in it on Easter. Or, failing that, I will get a four-pack of Jones Cherry Soda. Or Strawberry Crush. Or even A&W Root Beer. If I can just hang on until then…
I hear you Rilchiam . I gave up meat for Lent, as I have done several times before. It’s not so bad at first… But now it’s getting down to the wire. Last week, at the St. Patricks Day parade here in Topeka, a local restaurant set up a stand with charcoal grilled sausages, just behind where I was standing. I almost convinced myself that one little fall from grace wouldn’t matter.
I know, I know, that giving stuff up doesn’t make one better, more holy or anything. It’s a spiritual exercise for oneself
Let’s see, eight days and fourteen hours to go. Darn those sausages smelled good.
My wife likes seltzer. It’s pretty healthy, because there’s no sugar (or artificial sweetener) and no caffeine. But it’s fizzy and therefore, I assume, carbonated. Sorry, I guess it wouldn’t work.
But if anyone is giving up soft drinks for health reasons, a mix of fruit juice and seltzer would be a pretty good substitute, IMHO.
clayton: I’ve been consoling myself by remembering that at least Christians get to choose what they give up, unlike people who have to fast for Ramandan or keep Kosher.
You have my complete sympathy. I’m also thinking that Holy Week is going to be hard, and I want meat, too.
Just remember, God already has everything he needs- so the value of any gift to him is equal to the cost to you. The harder it is, the better a gift it is.
hey, you can indulge all you like on Sundays during Lent. Sunday is a feast day. If you count days between Ash Wednesday and Easter, it’s only 40 days if you don’t count Sundays.
Thanks to my ordained father-in-law for shedding the light on that one for me.
So I guess it’s a little late this year, but keep that in mind for next year.
(on a related side-note, last year I happened across the radio show “LoveLine” and heard this poor teenage guy call in. He’d apparently given up masturbation for Lent, and was having a really, really hard time with it. I guess he normally did it like 4 times a day! I almost called in to set him straight… but I was already in bed. )
Essentially, it’s my understanding that Jesus was crucified and made the ultimate sacrifice. He had nails put through his hands and feet. I’m not a medical doctor, but that had to hurt. A lot.
You are not sure if you can go without soft drinks or caffeine. The sacrifice is too great. It’s more than you can bear.
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