Giving It Our All

In two weeks it will be Good Friday.
I had to say that a couple times until it sunk in.
Wow.

But it's not over yet!
This is the part of Lent were we've got to get it all we've got.

Once I ran a 5k. Just once (haha actually I've run a couple 5k's but I am in no way a runner). Anyways. I kept a steady pace most of the way. Had a cramp here, had to stop there, but kept going. Towards the end, I sprinted and pushed by body to the furthest it could go (which isn't necessarily very far. Like I said, I'm not a runner). But I ended up in 2nd place.

Now, anyone who has ever pushed themselves too far while running knows what tends to follow. But that's besides the point.

I am one of those people who let's themselves have a little reward on Sundays because going a whole week without whatever you gave up is hard. It should be.
I mentioned this to someone who generally doesn't really agree with Catholicism in general. Which includes not feeling the need to make a Lenten sacrifice. But she told me that I wasn't really getting the point. That if I was going to refuse to do this now but as soon as Sunday morning comes around jump on the opportunity, then it wasn't really a sacrifice.

My first reaction was that she needs to remove the log from her eye before trying to remove the splinter from mine. I see now that just thinking that probably means I'm the one with a log in my eye.
She made me think.

Our priest said in his homily today that we don't have enough time left to radically discipline or change ourselves. All we can do now is look within, into our hearts, and see what God has written there.

Sure, I've been making sacrifices these past 30-something days. I started out pretty strong. I've gotten shaky.
But I have two weeks. You have two weeks. We have two weeks.
Two weeks to suffer and be awesome and give it our all.
To actually take time to pray. To give someone a genuine smile when they're being really annoying. To do more homework when you just want to crawl in bed. To refuse temptations when they're waved in your face. To keep your mouth shut when you want attention or feel the need to be rude or gossip. To do little things with great love.

To see Christ in each person and treat them with the love you'd give to Him.

Jesus didn't enjoy suffering. He didn't necessarily want it. But He did want to save us from our sin. To obey. To love completely. To the end.
"I am troubled now. Yet what should I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'?... when I am lifted up from the earth I will draw everyone to myself."