Lent

Hope you all had a wonderful Fat Tuesday and that you lived it up as one should! We went to an annual pancake supper on the mountain which was like a taste of home. Our home parish always had a pancake dinner on Shrove Tuesday and I was worried we would have to make our own flapjacks to keep the tradition going, but apparently this is a big annual event for one of the local parishes. There were tons of people there and cheesy entertainment which the kids loved.

I left early to go to Group Spiritual Direction, a bi-monthly spouses' event. It's one of those things that you have to force yourself to go to because you have to get out of the warm house and drive yourslef there; but once I'm there, and at the end, I'm so glad I went. Of course, the topic last night was Lent, but typically there is a slightly different perspective. We talked about Lent as a pilgrimage. It was very enlightening, and it made me re-think Lent for myself this year from a time of giving something up to a time of letting things go. I'm hoping to keep a calm, stress-free perspective for the next 40 days.

We're attending Ash Wednesday services with the kids today at the big chapel on campus. *A*'s been asking a lot about Jesus dying lately. The seminary chapel has a large crucifix and she's been very curious about it since we came to Sewanee. Lately though with her being at that 4 year-old-always-questioning stage, she'll randomly ask me "Why did God die Mommy?", you know like while we're walking through Kroger. Then in the car yesterday, she told me "But Jesus came back, right?" So this Lent should be an interesting time. I'd love to hear any reader's perspectives on raising kids in the church and responses to these big questions...don't those little people just make life so much more interesting?