Lent in Real Life: Week 5
At the beginning of the week, I was stoked we were so close to the end. Now at the end of the week, I just feel tired. I am trepidatious about yet another week and then — HOLY WEEK!
I know, I know. This too shall pass. Yet, the season of enjoying the lighter fare and not concerning myself about food too much has passed. Can someone just get me a cheeseburger, please!?!
Okay, okay. That’s how I’m feeling today. But it was really a good week. I was nervous about it because it was also a busy week. However, it was busier for my husband than for me and the things I did do went smoother than I expected, mostly.
Our Week
Monday was a normal day for me (thankfully!). It was a beautiful day and I was in a beautiful mood, without even trying! It was a breath of fresh air.
Tuesday also was fairly normal, but with it was also the now normal struggle to trust God, be content, and not worry about the future.
Wednesday was a different schedule because we had Pre-Sanctified Liturgy at 3:00 in the afternoon, rather than 6:00. We all went to that together and I brought a soup and bread meal to have after. Then the younger kids and I went home while my husband and older kids did the Canon of St. Andrew/Life of St. Mary. That gave me a quieter evening at home and a normal bedtime for the younger kids which is always a win!
Thursday was also different. My husband and I left mid-morning to register our children to join this amazing co-op this fall. That was less complicated than we thought, so we had a lot of time to sit and talk before our doctor appointments at noon. (We were just getting annual check-ups and hoping we’d like the doctor and then take our kids. Let’s just say, it wasn’t terrible, but we’re not going back to that doctor…) That also was fairly quick and left most of the afternoon open for me to work on various tasks, etc. I took my older kids to church for another Pre-Sanctified, and then had another calm evening with the younger kids.
This afternoon I will go to the church to help with a pick-up or eat-in falafel dinner our church is doing as a fund-raiser. It should be interesting because I’ve never done something like this, so I’m excited to learn a few things! We’ll have the Akathist to the Theotokos at 5:00.
Tomorrow morning will be the usual cleaning tasks and meeting with my husband. After lunch most of the family will head to a youth retreat. Our oldest son and I will head to his first baseball game. Hopefully that will be done in time for us to get to Vespers at the retreat.
Lenten Habits
I made a bigger effort this week to read more of The Lenten Spring. For some reason, it’s not resonating with me as much as it has in past years. Maybe it’s just where I’m at right now. Still, I got a few readings in. I’m still keeping up with the Psalter readings and finding that very edifying. Taking some time outside each morning for silence and the Jesus Prayer continues to be an important anchor in my day.
Morning prayers and reading Tending the Garden of Our Hearts has been pretty routine, at least Monday through Thursday. Evening prayers has definitely been more sparse with our evenings being off schedule. At the beginning of the week, I wanted to work on this and we said prayers Monday evening, but that was it. I want to keep trying, but I’m not going to beat myself up about letting it slide this week. There will be more opportunities next week.
On My Mind
I’m thinking about rest still. I know I need to prioritize it if I’m going to avoid burnout with all that is going on. I’m usually good about building it into each day here and there, but I haven’t been good about taking a break during the week. Sundays used to be that, but with Lenten Vespers in the evening, that has changed. Our family has Friday as an off day, but I’ve been using it to fit in what doesn’t get done during the week. So I’m thinking about two questions: How would a recharging, nurturing, edifying day look for me? How can I make that work with everything that needs to be done?
