Latter Day Sinner

Tomorrow starts the Lenten season for the majority of the Christian world. It lasts from Ash Wednesday to Palm Sunday. The season is meant to be a time of repentance. As a child I was encouraged to pick one sinful thing to give up during Lent. I was never any good at that. I tried to give up chocolate for the forty days with no luck. Several times as a teenager I tried to give up masturbation for Lent. I never lasted very long. The Army was much better at keeping my mind off of orgasm (but I digress). We also had a calendar with slots for quarters. Each day of Lent I would put another quarter in the calendar and then we would donate it in the end. $10 was a big deal in the Seventies. Giving up a little money for Lent had to count for something.

I stopped trying to do anything for Lent when I lived on my own in my early twenties and joined the LDS Church in my late twenties. The Church doesn’t observe Lent. So I’m off the hook. God expects me to give up my little sins every single day of the year. I have to sanctify my life, and actions, and words at all times. But tomorrow is Lent which means today is Fat Tuesday (Marti Gras). It is a carnal day and who am I to argue with The Old Church when there’s a day of celebration.