the sacrifice

there is a lot to be said on the topic of lent, and while this post could be all about the why's and why not's of giving something for this time period, it isn't that kind of post at all. simply, this post is a little story about miss e that might make you laugh just a little bit.

scott gave up sweets for lent this year. i am pretty much in awe every year at this time, because he gives up the same thing every year. and if you know my hubby, then you are very much aware that the way to his heart is freshly baked from the oven. he loves dessert of almost every kind (excluding creme brulee and white chocolate) and needs his daily fix of something sweet. as it would happen, miss e is just like her daddy. she is all over cookies, candy and cake.

and so the other night, as e was choosing her dessert after dinner she turned to her daddy and said, "what are you going to choose?". daddy, feeling the effect of his sacrifice, replied that he had given up sweets until easter. ellie looked at him like he had sixteen heads. (what, no sweets? what have you done with my real father and who are you??? why would anyone do that?) and then she went back to eating her gummy worms, slightly suspicious that she might have to give them up at some point.

mommy, the ever controlling teacher, was feeling like my sweet hubby's answer didn't do full justice to this teachable moment. (if i'm going to tell the story, i best be honest here, so there you have it: my faults and all.) and so i seized up miss e's question and ran with it, right towards my sweet Jesus dying on the cross. i gave her the whole story of how he is the ultimate sacrifice and that daddy is giving up sweets to remind him each day of the sacrifice Jesus made for each of us.

e looked at me, as i talked about Jesus dying and bleeding on the cross for our sins, with real big eyes. she's heard all of this many times, but this time, she was really taking it in (along with those tasty gummy worms). she nodded a lot, asked a few questions and then seemed fully satisfied with my answer. although i swear i saw her cast a sideways glance to her daddy suggesting that he was off his rocker.


the next day, i was making dinner for friends of ours and decided to throw in a batch of chocolate chip cookies. so miss e, along with one of e's friends and myself "made" cookies (again, since i'm all for truth i should report that they were break-aways from the grocery store). e was in heaven. this momma, in spite of my families sweet tooth issues, is not a baker. the girls each devoured several cookies, we gave half to our friends and we saved the remainder for e.


when scott arrived home, ellie, with great concern took her daddy to the plate of cookies. she showed him what we did that afternoon and then looked up at him and said, "when you're done with your sacrifice dad, please don't eat my cookies.


self preservation at its best.