I have always left the act of giving up something for Lent to the Catholics. Originally the thought never crossed my mind because I’m not Catholic. And then there were a few years where I thought the idea was kind of nice, but we would be halfway through the Lenten season or I just couldn’t think of something that wasn’t self motivated. For example, if I considered giving up sweets, I would be hoping for the added benefit of losing weight. It just didn’t seem right to have another motivation.
Yesterday I did not have a paczki and I did not come up with a plan of self-sacrifice for Lent. My church is promoting 40 days in the Word and I thought that suitable preparation for Easter. But this morning as I reached for the coffee to make my morning cup, I felt this very clear impression that I was to give it up. Before I had pulled the coffee grinds entirely from the cupboard, I was putting them back. The decision was made that fast.
Now I will just preface this post by saying that I am not a caffeine addict. I don’t have some massive mug that accompanies my day and I don’t feel like I require it in order to function. But I do really, really, really enjoy my one cup of coffee in the morning. There is something really peaceful about the warmth of the mug in your hands and the pace at which you have to drink the steaming liquid. My kids have a clear understanding that coffee is for adults and they do not get to partake which means that coffee is the one thing that I can leisurely enjoy without somebody asking me for a taste, leading to several others clamoring for what’s MINE.
I wanted to share with you some reflections I had while I wrestled with this commitment this morning:
1. It was a fleeting thought. Perhaps this was just silly. What affect can giving up coffee have?
These thoughts took place moments after I walked away from the coffee cupboard. The decision had been made so quickly with no forethought that my brain attempted to convince me against the commitment I had just made. As I tried to reason my way out of giving coffee up for Lent, it occurred to me that the fact that thought came from nowhere was evidence that it came from God. How many times do we have impressions from God that we don’t immediately act upon because we dismiss them as being not well thought out?
2. It’s not like it’s a big sacrifice- you’re not addicted to the stuff.
I prefaced this blog by mentioning that I am not a caffeine addict, but I discovered this morning that I have a lot more reliance on the stuff than I even realized. The fact that I tried to convince myself that I could have it because “it wasn’t like I needed it,” is enough said. How often do we fool ourselves in thinking we depend on God when we allow so many other dependencies in our life and then convince ourselves that they don’t exist?
3. This is not a good idea. I’m probably going to get a headache and I won’t be able to write later which is a greater service to God than giving up coffee.
Well that sounds like a pretty good argument to me! But then it occurred to me that perhaps I needed to trust that if God was asking me to give up coffee, He would sustain me; headache or not.
4. “Time to start school, Colette! Mommy’s just going to grab her… cup… of…coff…..BLAH!”
I can not tell you how many times I almost forgot that I had committed to giving up coffee and kept looking for it. It is so routine that I fear I will forget tomorrow until after I have completed a cup! And I wonder how many things are so routine in our life that we form dependencies we don’t even realize we have.
5. But I’m going to someone’s house and I know they’ll have coffee and I can’t resist the temptation and it will look rude if I decline and why should I give up when everybody is else is having some?
Sacrifice doesn’t come easy and it certainly doesn’t come without temptation. It’s time we stop fooling ourselves that the Christian life is a paved and easy road to walk.
6. What if two days from now I give up? Wouldn’t it be better to not try than to try and fail and let God down?
The devil specializes in convincing us we’re licked before we even get started. The only winner in that situation is him. 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
My final revelation came when I was about to pretend like I never thought that thought because I really just wanted a cup of coffee. It occurred to me that I should pine after God’s Word like I was pining after that cup of coffee. What if my source of peace in the morning was God’s Word? What if that was my source of warmth and comfort? What if not getting God’s Word affected my daily functioning? What if I feared the disastrous results if I didn’t take time to connect with Him? What if spending time in His Word was so routine that I couldn’t break the habit no matter how hard I tried? What if I accepted the fact that the day is filled with temptations and I am called to a life of sacrifice, not a life of pleasure? What if I recognized that it is only in my weaknesses that I can actually see the power of God working?
What if giving up coffee was the only way God planned on calling me to these reflections and I missed that opportunity with Him?
Proverbs 16:3 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” Here’s to 40 days without coffee, but a God who will be filling my cup to overflowing!