February 21

The Mystery of Lent

As a child, giving up something for Lent was a difficult task. “Remember Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross every time you crave the item you’ve given up for Lent,” I would be reminded. Mom never went along with the “I’m going to give up spinach and Brussels sprouts!” trick, nor did Dad buy into “If you give up smoking, I’ll give up watching TV on school nights!” attempt.

Fortunately, John and I were blessed with two lovely daughters with whom I could relive my Lenten journey. Surprisingly, they took it seriously and often chose to give up something they knew they would miss for six weeks. When Elaine was 10 years old, her basketball friends played a major role in this experience. The fact that they were Catholic may have had something to do with it.

“Kathleen and Katie are giving up chocolate!” “Kimmy is giving up Dunk-A-Roos for lunch – that’s big!” “I’m going to give up McDonald’s hamburgers at our after-basketball game parties on Saturday afternoons,” Elaine said with purpose.

It was difficult at first for Elaine to order just the salad, while her friends chowed down on burgers and fries. Though she did gain praise from the mothers in the group, and I too received a vicarious thrill from her unwavering stance. Mrs. Lescheck even offered to treat her to a vanilla milkshake in support of her efforts.

Six weeks of practices and after-game parties finally came to a close, and the Big Day had arrived. On Sunday after church we took Elaine to McDonald’s to order whatever she wanted. She even chose to wait until she got home, so she could enjoy eating the hamburger and fries on a real dinner plate. She opened the bag, assembled the burger and fries on the plate, and began to enjoy the mini feast. One bite into the burger, though, brought everything to a sudden halt. Catsup? Yes! Mustard? Yes! Pickles? Yes! Burger? No! They forgot to put the burger in the bun.

So there you have it – the mystery of Lent. We still don’t know what it means, but it must mean something.

Vikki Clayton