Below are some of the responses that I have received once informing dear friends that I am giving up wine for Lent...

"Jesus drank wine at the Passover meal. Just so u remember."

"Oh...Oh... yikes."

"I'm going to email you 10 better things to give up than wine" and she did, here are a few of her great suggestions of better items to sacrifice for Lent:

1. Laundry

2. Deodorant (ask Bebo)

3. Flossing

4. Plucking eyebrows

5. Rooting against Dook.

and on and on... and they were hilarious. Hilarious.

"Are you really? Here's to the high sacrifice"

"One year I gave up weekday drinking."

"It doesn't seem like the right time."

The responses could go on and on, but you get the point. First of all people are hilarious. Second of all, people are very skeptical of this decision. Third of all potentially I am overly associated with wine. So here is to breaking the system. I went to my first wine and cheese event post Ash Wednesday (keep in mind that was yesterday and the event was today), and all went swimmingly. actually, i have just arrived home, very joyful for a fun night of trying on jewelry as a part of a trunk show and feeling great about mixing things up a bit by hanging with the H2O.

truth is I may be hoping a little too much from Lent. Like hoping Lent is going to save me. solve things. shed light. So i am at least a little determined to try to soak in the Lenten season in the ways I can, to feel sacrifice and in that draw near to truths I know i believe but that i have been trying to avoid. remember I am working overtime to resist this deep and in some small way, i'm considering (its still day 2 i repeat) that Lent, that remembering the story my very faith is built around, may soften me or renew me to not just plough through right now.