I Am Always Looking For A Bargain

Week one of Lent is underway.  We have spent some time thinking about giving up something for Lent, or doing something extra for Lent, like helping the poor, adding prayers, saying a daily Rosary, etc.  Now that we are under way with our "resolution," so to speak, I wanted to bring up the idea of bargaining.  

I love to bargain over things.  I look at bargaining as a way to find win/win solutions to all types of situations.  My children are becoming very good at bargaining with me, especially when it comes to doing something they do not like.  For example, my daughter will all of the sudden remember her homework or a test she needs to study for, when I ask her to clean her room.  My son will immediately tell me he is in the middle of something and needs a few more minutes before emptying the dishwasher, in hopes that I will forget that I asked him to do this family chore.  I am not sure, but I am getting the feeling that bargaining is not necessarily a skill obtained over time, as much as it might be human nature. 

I bring up bargaining, because, as I stated, I love to do it.  I really like the idea of finding win/win solutions.  That being said, have you ever found yourself bargaining with God?  Have you ever said something like, "God if I get (fill in the blank), I will attend Sunday Mass more frequently?"  Or how about "God, if I get (fill in the blank), I will spend more time helping the poor."  I have to say, I have said that more times than I care to admit.  I can especially hear myself saying things like this during times of struggle, such as sickness of a family member, or the craving for a steak dinner, Fridays, during Lent. 

 

While our human nature might be to bargain with God, how do we change that mindset?  We need to remember that God has a plan for all of us.  He will give us what we need, and the strength and courage to handle anything.  One of my most recent favorite quotes is "If God is all you have, you have all you need."(John14:8)  God does not need to bargain with us.  If we trust in Him, no matter how hard the task is at hand, God will get us through it.  If we have the conversation with Him, God will give us the strength, courage, and understanding to overcome.  If we trust His plan, we will have no problem getting over the hump.  Unfortunately, God's plan doesn't always jive with our plan, and that is where the bargaining begins.   Trust in Him, the Lenten season.  Take some time out of the busyness of the day and listen for His guidance and understanding.  If you have complete and total trust in Him and His plan, you will then realize bargaining is not necessary.

Don't Let the Word "Fast" Scare You

So, the Lenten Season is upon us.  This Wednesday, we celebrate Ash Wednesday and for the next few weeks, we are asked to fast (no meat on Ash Wednesday or Fridays), and put aside a full meal.  We are asked to repent (attend a Reconciliation Service).  And finally, we are asked to spend more time with the Lord in prayer.  Then there is the ever hanging idea of giving up something for Lent. 

 

I am not much of a New Year’s Resolution person, not because I cannot do it, but it just seems to me to be a worn out kind of idea.  I used to make a “resolution” for Lent, like giving up Diet Sodas, one year I drank nothing but water from Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday, and donated my soda money to help build water wells in a third world country.  I gave up stuff because it was what I was supposed to do.  But, much like my New Year’s Resolution, giving up something for Lent was becoming a worn out idea. 

 

About 10 years ago, I decided to change my perception of “giving up” things for Lent and decided to try and do things to make be a better Christian.  I would try to do something that would increase my prayer life, or increase my relationship with God.  That year, I fasted for one meal, each day, not just Fridays, and when my stomach would start to rumble, I would remind myself that I am doing this for God.  While I was still giving up something, taking the time to remember Him whenever I would feel hungry, reminded that there are others that have hunger pains, but they do not have a choice.  It increased my relationship with God, and made me appreciate the things I have even more.

As time has gone on, I am finding it more and more a struggle to find ways to increase my faith life.  Not that I have the perfect faith life, please do not read it that way, but finding things that I can do that fit into my schedule of work and shuffling my children from place to place.  Last week, a parent shared with me a list of simple things to put on the bathroom mirror or the screen saver on my devices that will act as a simple reminder of the things that we can do to help us grow in our relationships with God.  Looking at the title, please do NOT let the word “FAST” scare you or discourage you.  Fasting involves changing, and here are a few ideas of things that you can do to change your relationship with others and with God.