“I Give Up”
By: JF
My three year old Veronica is famous for this quote. She applies it to everything; cleaning her bedroom, eating any food that has real substance to it, brushing her hair, sharing with her sisters, etc. If it is something that doesn’t work for her at that exact moment, she immediately throws in the towel and removes herself from the situation. My husband and I have heard criticism from unnamed relatives that we should really work with her on this because this has the potential to become a serious problem. We think otherwise.
When Veronica vows to “give up” something, we chose to think of this as having strong will. Of having the personal strength to decide she isn’t going to do something, and then stick with this decision. Good or bad, she never wavers. I don’t view this as a liability, I view this as an asset that will serve her quite well throughout her life.
As we approach this Lenten season, most of us will go on a 40 day personal journey to “give up” something during this time. Just as Jesus spent 40 days in the desert resisting sin, we will mimic him in our acts of not doing something to pay honor to his sacrifice. I made the decision to give up processed sugars for Lent. It was almost immediately after I informed my husband of this that I found myself surrounded by Coca-Cola drinkers, Girl Scouts trying to sell me cookies, and the devil himself in my dining room having transformed into a bowl of Valentine Hershey Kisses. Just as I start to walk the long way to go upstairs to pass by that bowl of chocolate, I think of Veronica. How easy it is for a child her age, to just say “I give up” and that is the end of discussion. I am going to pull my strength from her to get me through these 40 days.
I wish you all strength during this Lenten season. And when you are tempted, just remember “I give up (insert sacrifice)” and have that be the end of the discussion.
Oh, and in case you were wondering, I do brush Veronica’s hair and we are making real progress with sharing.