Drought.

Forty-five minutes until this beautiful Sunday of celebration draws to a plump and weary close.

What is Celebration Sunday you ask?

Well ya see, the season of Lent is forty days long. But Ash Wednesday is 46 days before Easter, which leaves a whopping gap of 6 days that actually don't count as a part of Lent. At least I don't count them, and many others don't either.

When you observe Lent, you normally give something up, something near and dear to your heart, so that when you give that said thing up, you lean on the Lord in its absence.

In my case, it's sugar.

I gave up sugar because I was becoming addicted. Laugh if you must, but it's true.

So in it's absence, whenever I crave it, I look to the Lord for strength in abstaining from it's seething sugary screeches, as it calls my name perpetually. Sugar. It's wretched.

You never really realize an addiction until you decide to abstain. The absence of the substance causes withdrawal, a time when your body can't function as it tries to cope without the substance. Friday and Saturday of this week, I experienced some serious withdrawal symptoms. There was extreme irritability, slight headache, uncontrollable salivation, and emotional sensitivity. I was at my most vulnerable state and I'm only 3 weeks into Lent.

So then we get to Sunday, beautiful Sunday. So that whopping 6 day gap I was speaking of earlier is composed entirely of Sundays. Celebration Sundays. Every Sunday you get to indulge in whatever you gave up for Lent. In my case, I can binge on as much sugar as I want. I know, it sort of defeats the purpose of beating temptation throughout the week, when I'm just going to succumb to the urge on Sunday, but it's a celebration, so I'm going to observe it with as much gusto as possible...that's why I ate...drumroll please...

2 chocolate chip cookies
2 banana nut muffins
2 Ghirardeli chocolate squares (one milk chocolate, one caramel chocolate)
1 peanut butter brownie
1 large Dr. Pepper
1 warm apple empanada
1 small mint oreo cookie jar blizzard (that was supposed to have cookie dough in it, but Janet forgot)
and
1 piece of funfetti birthday cake from KyGuy's bday that Deanna saved for me to have on this special celebration Sunday

That is outrageous. I think I'm going to go throw up now.

In the words of Sonia Malmquist, "There's nothing celebratory about this. I'm feeling violently ill."

This is the first season of Lent where I've actually been persistent and not given up on what I've given up. I think it's because I've been enlightened to Celebration Sunday. I'm not really sure why I haven't referred to every Sunday of my life as Celebration Sunday. I think I will from now on.

Let's celebrate Sundays why don't we? Let's celebrate Sundays by actually celebrating the sabbath. Does anyone celebrate the sabbath day anymore? Does anyone even rest anymore? Rest, do you even know what that word means?

Let me re-introduce you. Go take a nap outside next Sunday. Please. And if you can't sleep, at least read a book and lie in the springtime sun.

Rest. We need it like water, but alas, our country is going through a drought.

I pray that you would have deep rest this sabbath Sunday. Deep deep rest. It really is necessary, pivotal to a healthy lifestyle. So drink up. God knows you're de-rest-ated.