Before I lose my resolve

I write this next post to obligate myself to follow through on something. Forgive me if it comes out as holier-than-thou. It is, most certainly, not intended to be so.

Lent starts Wednesday. This Lent, I have decided to give up beer. While in any other time of year the removal of beer from my routine would be a big deal, I have to point out that St. Patrick's day falls in the Lenten season. That means no Guiness this year. To say the least, this change marks a major disruption in my routine.

It alarmed me when I realized that I like beer so much I found it hard to even conceive of giving it up. The fact that Lent is only forty days long made my recultance all the more disturbing.

In my life, I find one thing to be true. It relates to my earlier post about addiction:

It is dangerous to need a material thing so much that one could not be parted from that thing without pain.

May Lent remind me of all the blessings I have and make me appreciate the abundance I generally take for granted. As I remember the small sacrifice I am making, let the much greater sacrifices others have made for me come to mind, overshadowing my own.

Of course, as I do this to remember sacrifice, I also ask that Jesus' ultimate gift of salvation come to the front of all my thoughts. No greater sacrifice can be made that His.