That's Right. It's Midterms.
Most teachers give midterms right before spring break. And for the past week I, along with about 30,000 other students have been studying my pants off in hopes to achieve some solid grades before a week of anything but school. The week before these test is full of questions (What is she talking about?), self-doubt (There's NO WAY i can do that), and sacrifice (Yea, I really DO want to go to that concert... BUT I have a class tomorrow morning at 8:30... sorry) in order to get to the light at the end of the tunnel... spring break.
Sound Fimiliar?
Today is Holy Thursday, the beginning of the Triduum, the most important time for Catholics everywhere. On top of the last week of midterms, I have also been through 6 weeks previous known as Lent. This is my own reflection on what I did for lent: Sacrifice, Reflection, and Sacrificial Giving.
This lent I gave up meat. The original idea behind giving up something for lent is to give up something that maybe one day you could give up for good. Every time you crave that sacrifice, you remember the sacrifice Jesus suffered for us. Now, to avoid sounding like a crunchy granola hippie, I will avoid telling you all the books I have read on how meat is good, but not an everyday thing. Giving up meat turned out to be much easier than I expected. But don;t get me wrong, I had been planning this. I did not just wake up ash wednesday and say "I'm giving up.... mmmmm... MEAT" I planned ahead, thought about it, and found lots of substitutes to get the nutrients I needed (spinach and egg whites, namely). Much like my midterms, the ones I planned for and went into prepared, I succeeded at. The test I do not plan for, like my sacrificial giving... not so much.
Along with giving up something, it is also customary for Catholics to give something of themselves. Time, Prayer, money... anything that might be difficult. I thought about what I might give... I didn't have much time or money, and then the events of my reflection and lent led me to a more spontaneous decision.
I have a very love-hate relationship with my hair. I never do anything with it because of my rigorous schedule, but for some reason people always told me I had fantastic hair. So, February 29th, almost exactly half-way through lent, I chopped off a foot and donated it to Locks of Love, the cancer foundation that makes wigs for children with lukemia.
So what, right? wrong. If you talk to any woman they might tell you how important hair is. We know it grows back and all that, but the decision was one of the hardest I've ever had. What if it doesn't look good? What if's ran through my head when I finally decided, these are silly, just chop it off and if you hate it... It will always grow back.
Who cares about hair. All I am saying is, it took a HUGE leap of faith. As ridiculous as that sounds, being the vain person I am, this was a big step. And while it was scary, and frustrating at times, I knew in my heart someone was benefitting from it, and I was doing the right thing.
Jesus, suffers tenfold. We have spent the last couple weeks with him in the desert being tempted by Satan, and now we walk with him as he goes from teacher, to Criminal, to savior. He saved us. He underwent the biggest leap of faith. My hair will grow back, and I thought that was scary. Jesus knew he would come back from the dead, but you bet he was terrified.
What have you done with your lent? How was your 40 days in the desert? How was your sacrificial giving?
Take some time to reflect on it. Where do you stand? And are you prepared? I think I said earlier that Jesus reminds us to "Stay awake" because we do not know the hour. But, like a test or midterm, we prepare mentally and spiritually, and everything works out.
Peace friends. In three days he will rise!
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