Ash Wednesday was this week so we are in Lent, and I’ve given up sweets again. By sweets I mean candy and desserts– I haven’t given up sugar completely. I still put honey in my yogurt and sugar in my tea. But I won’t eat cookies and pie and stuff at work, I won’t make them at home, and I have given up chocolate. I tried to do this last year and made it through 2 or 3 weeks, then backslid. I tried to get back on it for the rest of Lent but never did. I’m determined this year, though.
I’m doing it for several reasons, one of the biggest being self-control. I don’t have a lot of will-power when it comes to sweets, and I’m hoping that gaining control over myself in this area will help me in other areas. Another reason is health: my stomach is getting huge, and all those “Lose Belly Fat” ads on Facebook and, well, every other website I go to are starting to make me feel paranoid. (I’m sure as a 48-year-old female I hit the right demographic for that, but I find myself taking it very personally). I’m also offering it up as a prayer, for a specific intention, and focusing on that intention is what will help me do this– it’s something I’ve been praying for, for a while, but I’ve felt called to pray in a deeper and more meaningful way. I won’t specify the intention, but it’s not for myself.
It will be tough six weeks, but the worst few days are over– Thursday was especially hard, since the cafe had just re-opened and the bakery case was filled with luscious desserts. I persevered, though, and I will not avail myself to the Sunday exception even though it is technically allowed; that’s what sunk me last year. When the going gets rough, I will focus on my intention, and remember Philippians 4:13. “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.”
