This year for Lent

Lent is a foreign concept to me. Growing up secular as I did, I had only been to a church a handful of times, mostly for weddings and funerals. We celebrated Easter and Christmas like all other secular families, but lent was something that I felt sorry for other kids for having to do. And was a little put off by the way that they treated it. Eating fish on friday and giving up pop or chocolate seemed kind of silly and unrelated. As I have gotten older, I have heard stories about the power of fasting and refraining as an act of faith and devotion, it makes more sense. But even with that knowledge, "giving somthing up" for lent seems silly. So for the past few years I try to do something a little different, I try to better myself intellectually. I know it's not much of a act of devotion to do something that appeals to me, mainly, reading. But although I love to read, devoting myself to a subject matter to learn more about it or about a group of people is enlightening and makes me feel connected.
So, with varying degrees of sucess, I read books that deal with religion. That will show me somthing new about faith. I don't always suceed at doing this ALL the way through Lent, sometimes deciding one book was enough that year. I don't always find things I want to read, just as I know those teenagers would decide their Hostess cupcake wasn't REALLY chocolate, I guess we all slip up. I count Lamb, for example, which is a work of fiction, but definitly gets me to think about religion. But mostly it's memoirs: priests, monks, nuns, jews both reformed and orthodox all the way to new age hippie types like Anne Lamont. I'm sure there's way more out there to read and learn, but this year I am going to do something different.

We have been talking a lot about how being enviromental and "green" is a very christian way to be. I have also been lucky enough to get an apartment with a yard and a raised bed in the middle of it. It already has raspberries and rhubarb and horseradish. I would like to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, peas and beans. I hope. But first I want to read about living and eating locally and all the theory and fact behind the locavore movement. Yes, that's right the new vegatarian. Locavores eat animals and vegtables, but only if it was raised in their county/state. I'm blown away by this. First of all virtually impossible here in chicago, where cook county is mostly urban, and even our farmer's markets are peopled by farmers from out of state (Michigan and Wisconsin and Indiana). But it does make me want to think more about where my food comes from.

So above is my current reading list, topped by my notebook of notes. I hope to grow seedlings with the help of a friend, but am also afraid it is too late for that now. I may have to buy my seedlings. It's exciting and crazy and there's a lot to learn. The list of things to read goes on: The Omnivores Dilemma, Month by Month Gardening in Illinois are two that I need to get from the library ASAP. I could also pick up our copy of Fast Food Nation, but I have already given up fast food, so I am going to stick to these others first.

So learning more about this basic human need and my favorite thing, food, is my Lent devotional.

Are you doing anything for Lent?