Sunday, March 23, 2008

Lent is over! Alleluia, alleluia!


Lent is over and I feel like a failure. I gave up coffee for Lent. I used to drink coffee like most people drink water. Seriously. I used to drink roughly 4 pots of coffee a day.
When I gave up coffee, it was rough for the first couple of days. I went to the World Market and bought some good tea. I bought PG Tips which is not common here but evidently is in the UK, at least according to their advertising. I love it. It got me through Lent without feeling truly deprived.
I know, I know. That is not the point of Lent. We are supposed to feel deprived. And I did, truly. There were times when I would walk into a place and smell a fresh pot of coffee brewing that I nearly caved. There were times, like when I would go to the big city with my daughter and we would come home without stopping at Starbucks, that I nearly caved. There were times when I was stressed and reached for the magic elixir that I nearly caved. There was the one time, when I first started my new job and one of my coworkers graciously brought me a coffee along with hers, that I nearly caved.
Maybe I was deprived.
Anyway, this morning, after Mass, I got home and made a fresh cup of coffee. I gathered up the Sunday papers and my coffee and sat down. It tasted like crap. I did not enjoy the taste of it at all.
Now I am thinking that I did not like coffee at all. I think I was drinking coffee merely out of habit and no longer out of enjoyment.
Lent is over and I gave up something I don’t even like. I’m sure glad that God understands my heart

12 comments:

willowtree said...

You only discovered you didn't like it after you weaned yourself off it, at the time you gave it up you did like it, so the sacrifice was valid.

It was the same way for me with with Diet Coke (not that I gave it up for Lent, I don't do that, life is hard enough without artificially making it even harder!).

bichonpawz said...

I still love my coffee!!!!!!!!!!!! Happy Easter!!

Kim said...

Your discovery is exactly what Lent is all about!

Often times we must step away from something long enough for God to give us a true picture of what it truly is.

You didn't fail. You gave God room to give you victory!

laurie said...

wow, you definitely didn't fail.

and coffee smells much, much, much better than it tastes.

my friend john gives up beer for lent every year, and every year he loses like 20 pounds.

Sandy said...

WT - thanks for validating me (I always wanted to say that to somebody!)

BermudaBluez - Happy Easter to you, too!

Kim - Thank you for pointing out what should have been obvious to me.

Laurie - That's just brilliant. I had to give up something with NO calories - duh!

Unknown said...

HA~ I found that I still enjoy a good swear. In fact, I swore several times today at the Puppy for good measure. I can't stand coffee either. And, PG tips are good.

Alison said...

you didn't fail!!! you just lost your taste and your need for it...sort of like quitting smoking!!! I think that is great..you will be much healthier without all that coffee!!

Pamela said...

I wish I would just wake up and not like it.

Megnificent said...

good for you, hun. i'm proud of you!!!!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like SUCCESS to me!

:)

Irish Coffeehouse said...

As much as it sounds like a bummer, I think it's awesome!

Happy [belated] Easter to you!!!

Unknown said...

I'm with WT on this one.

And I'm laughing my ass off, because that is TOTALLY something I would do.

Unintentionally, of course.

 
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