Holy Sacrifice, Batman!: part two

           As you know I was having trouble deciding what to sacrifice for Lent.  Well, I have decided! With the help of one of Frob’s Sunday homilies I have decided to sacrifice my 5 senses.  I know what you are thinking, “this girl is nuts, that’s impossible.”  Well friends, “all things are possible through Christ who strengthens me”, remember?  So here is how it works, for each week of Lent I will being adding a sacrifice pertaining to a certain sense.

picture via birchbox 

           
           During the first week I will be sacrificing my sense of taste.  I have decided to only drink water for this sacrifice.  This means that I can no longer drink glasses of chocolate milk, or juice at breakfast, soda is out, and lemonade at Wednesday night dinner will have to be replaced.  Now, this doesn't seem that hard but I know better. I sacrificed beverages last year and I had never realized how much I drink non-water.  I literally take shots of those flavored coffee creamers for a sweets craving satisfier (who does that?)

           
          The second week I will continue my taste sacrifice and add my touch sacrifice.  This one is not something I am looking forward to.  I got the idea on one of the creative Lent lists to put a popcorn kernel or pebble in my shoe.  This means trudging all over campus, using the elliptical, and doing ZUMBA with a lump in my shoe.  Now I am not super active, but as a college student I have to walk a lot. 

          
           Third week continues the first two sacrifices and adds the sense of sight.  Hold your breath ladies, I am not going to wear makeup.  Scary thought right? Going out in public without make-up on is actually a nightmare some girls have.  But here is the deal, God created my face just the way it is and really that is good enough for me.  What will I actually lose out on? I won’t be at my "optimal" look, boys might not notice me? First of all, boys noticing me while wearing make-up is not an everyday occurrence.  Second of all, if a boy has a lower opinion of me because I am not wearing make-up than he is just that, a boy.  Ain’t nobody got time for that! All women, including myself, deserve a man (rant over).
     
          Week four, sense of smell.  Frob told us ladies to skip the perfume; unfortunately the boys took this as they didn't need deodorant (not true).  I however, have decided, with permission from my roommate to sacrifice our air-freshener.  Just to let everyone know we are the envy of our hall because ours is the only room that doesn't have that terrible “75 college students live in this hall” smell.  I mean who wouldn't want to smell hazelnut latte instead of the nasty boys on the other side of the hall?

         
          Ok, fifth week carrying on into the last few days I am giving up my sense of hearing.  I don’t know about the rest of you but I always have music playing.  I mean always.  I wake up and turn on my computer to jump on Spotify immediately and when I leave the room my ear buds are ready to go.  I will be spending the last weeks of Lent not listening to music on my iPod or computer.  I recently was able to put an audio version of Rediscover Catholicism by Matthew Kelly on my iTunes.  This book is going to replace my music and I will actually learn something about God as I walk to class instead of listening to the country station play “Cruise” for the fifty- millionth time (not that I don’t love that song, I do!).

           

            I am excited to jump into Lent this year.  I know that is counter-intuitive considering the whole “sacrifice” thing, but just think of all Jesus sacrificed for us.  The least I could do is endure 40 days of discomfort! For my final and hardest sacrifice I am pledging now, with the internet as my witness, that I will not complain about the sacrifices I am making.

            Do you think this is a good approach to Lent? Did you find any more creative ideas after my last post? Questions? Comments?  Drop me a line in the comments below!