It's Holy Week. The holiest of home stretches leading up to Easter. The marathon of masses. The last hurrah of the season of Lent.
But can I be honest with you?
This has not been my best Lent.
My liturgical involvement has been minimal. We haven't attended Stations on the Cross once because it coincides with Johnny's bedtime, and I am way to exhausted by the time evening rolls round.
And my sacrifices have been wimpy. With my stomach feeling super queasy and my list of palatable foods changing with each day, giving up a particular food item didn't seem that feasible.
The thought of giving up TV or social media seemed unbearable as that often provides a much needed distraction from feeling tired or sick.
So I decided I would give up complaining instead.
But can I be honest with you?
This has not been my best Lent.
My liturgical involvement has been minimal. We haven't attended Stations on the Cross once because it coincides with Johnny's bedtime, and I am way to exhausted by the time evening rolls round.
And my sacrifices have been wimpy. With my stomach feeling super queasy and my list of palatable foods changing with each day, giving up a particular food item didn't seem that feasible.
The thought of giving up TV or social media seemed unbearable as that often provides a much needed distraction from feeling tired or sick.
So I decided I would give up complaining instead.
ha.
ha ha.
Ask my husband how I did on that one. Could he even tell a difference?
I feel gross. I hate morning sickness. I'm so tired. Johnny is being so difficult. I slept terribly.
And so on. And so on.
Oh you're suffering enough by being pregnant, many people have said to me. I'd kind of like to take that excuse. But when I look at the cross and see the horrific and amazing sacrifice Jesus made there, playing the pregnant card just seems lame, pathetic, and unacceptable.
Today I am over at Blessed is she for the daily devotional. I turned in my writing assignment back in February, but the words ring so true for me I could have written it today.
"Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” (John 12:3)
What a beautiful and intimate scene we are allowed a glimpse of in today’s Gospel, Mary anointing the feet of Jesus. Foot washing was a common show of hospitality in Biblical days, but Mary takes it one step further by anointing Jesus’ feet with pure nard. Nard was a very expensive spice, the cost of which was close to an entire year’s wages. Mary could have saved this extravagant ointment to use on herself, or, as Judas so bluntly points out, she could have sold it for a great deal of money. But there is no room in her mind for anything but Jesus, and so she pours this precious gift out on His feet........continue reading at Blessed is She.
I feel gross. I hate morning sickness. I'm so tired. Johnny is being so difficult. I slept terribly.
And so on. And so on.
Oh you're suffering enough by being pregnant, many people have said to me. I'd kind of like to take that excuse. But when I look at the cross and see the horrific and amazing sacrifice Jesus made there, playing the pregnant card just seems lame, pathetic, and unacceptable.
Today I am over at Blessed is she for the daily devotional. I turned in my writing assignment back in February, but the words ring so true for me I could have written it today.
//
"Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.” (John 12:3)
What a beautiful and intimate scene we are allowed a glimpse of in today’s Gospel, Mary anointing the feet of Jesus. Foot washing was a common show of hospitality in Biblical days, but Mary takes it one step further by anointing Jesus’ feet with pure nard. Nard was a very expensive spice, the cost of which was close to an entire year’s wages. Mary could have saved this extravagant ointment to use on herself, or, as Judas so bluntly points out, she could have sold it for a great deal of money. But there is no room in her mind for anything but Jesus, and so she pours this precious gift out on His feet........continue reading at Blessed is She.
//
Here I am, feeling like my own sacrifices are a little embarrassing compared to what Mary so willingly gave.
But there's still time. We have a week left. This very Holy Week. It's time to give everything.
When I feel sick to my stomach, give it to Jesus.
When I'm so tired my whole body hurts, give it to Jesus.
When there are complaining and impatient words hitting the back of my teeth, give them to Jesus.
When it feels like motherhood is a never ending exercise in suffering, give it to Jesus and thank Him for suffering for me.
And most of all my heart, the thing He desires more than any amount of desserts or screen time. If I can give Him my heart with reckless abandon then it really will be a Holy Week.
I hope you have a Holy Week and a Happy Easter!
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