After 35 years of marriage, it was an unusual message attached to the present I received on Valentine’s Day. ‘It’s a bit late now’ observed both our children and ‘well past the returns date!’
It’s a family habit to attach silly labels at times of present-giving and, with the cotton jumper contained in this one being to my taste, we all found Jane’s comment amusing.
While at times, she, like me (and probably most of us), feel that we are sometimes not to another person’s taste, it can be difficult to change in order to become so. Many of us feel aspects of failure or letting people down at times. That we are not good enough.
As Lent begins, we are once again confronted with the desire and implicit demand to ‘give something up’, although in more recent years the emphasis has shifted towards the more positive approach of ‘take something up.’
The two are not mutually exclusive, of course. Indeed, someone I know gives up chocolate for Lent – which in itself has limited value – but they then give the money they saved to someone who does value it.
As is the case with taking something up, giving something up simply for the six weeks or so of Lent only to not continue it afterwards also retains a limited value.
Whether we give or take, there are many ways in which we can use this time of Lent to be changed.
The message on the present reminded me of one such approach: that of the way we see ourselves. Those aspects which are not so much about changing to suit another person’s taste, but doing so to suit our own.
To take some time to consider the person we are. To take some time to thank God for the person we are. For each of us are certainly to God’s taste.
For Lent can be a time to give up some of the negative narrative we have about our ourselves. A time to take up a more balanced approach towards loving the person we are. Time to Love Yourself. And not to stop doing so when it’s all over.
A few year ago I produced some short videos for Lent, Holy Week and Easter so do please take a look.
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