28. March 2011 08:06
(taken from my office window, surprisingly apt!)
Its day 20 of lent. Or this year I’m counting it more as day 20 of not enjoying a take away latte. That’s 20 days out of 40. I never realised 40 days could feel so long.
I’ve stuck to my lent fast, although found a few little ways around it. If I have a meeting (social or work) in a coffee shop – its drink ‘in’ not take ‘out’. If someone else buys it for me then surely that’s ok?! Although I’m not allowed to say ‘yes’ when one of my team text me from the café asking if I’d like a drink. That’s a take out. But if they surprised me that would be ok. And Sundays don’t count, because between shrove Tuesday and Easter there are actually more than 40 days, so you don’t count the Sundays. The problem is that I don’t usually get take away coffee on a Sunday – that’s not part of my habit. So, just for lent could Monday’s be my new Sunday? Oh dear I’m on a wiggly, but clearly defined path to legalism.
Lattes … a simple thing, a frivolous pleasure. But, no lattes = pain. It hurts when my desires aren’t satisfied. When I can’t have some instant gratification - a little treat, reward or comfort in the form of a steaming mug of creamy coffee that satisfies the little hungry whole in my stomach and maybe even my soul.
My work colleagues have ridiculed my Lenten practice. I’m sure it’s not been a living testimony that following Jesus is anything more than idiocy. And I even question whether this Lenten practice of sacrifice has helped me make space for Jesus. It’s not a discipline that prompts me to pray. But Katrina from the Bear pointed out that drawing close to Jesus is so much more than me turning my thoughts into a conversation with God (a conversation that can often can resemble a one way barrage of verbal diarrhoea).
I’m more aware of the money I fritter away, and not just on lattes. I’m more aware that when I’ve time to kill on a journey I fill it with a latte. I’m more aware that when I feel I’ve not got it in me, I let a steamy creamy latte bolster me for the day ahead.
In the next 20 days, as I prepare for the coming of Jesus at Easter, I’d like to make more space for Jesus to feed my soul, those carnal desires that only get suppressed by a latte, but not addressed. I commit to intentionally practicing the discipline of life without latte.
Bex Keer