Giving up Diet Coke for Lent

I usually don't do this... I became a follower of Jesus Christ at a Baptist Church as a teenager, and before that wasn't really all that "religious" at all.  So, participating in what many (for good reason) consider a Catholic tradition (because it is) seems a little weird, but for some reason on Wednesday I felt God nudge me to give something up this year.

I hope my Baptist friends don't hurt me ;-).  But I did give up something for Lent this year.  There are a lot of things about Catholic theology that I firmly disagree with, but this tradition is seriously something that I admire.  And honestly... we Baptists, while we are very solid on theology and doctrine are largely deficient in the arenas of self-denial and sacrifice.  This is something that I'd like God to work on me on; to deny myself for the sake of knowing Him more and allowing Him to mold me, so this is why I'm taking this leap.

And I hope my friends that work at The Coca-Cola Company don't hurt me, because your product (well, all derivatives of it) is what I gave up.  I really love Diet Coke (diet sodas in general, but this is my favorite), drink a lot of it, and giving it up would be a pretty big sacrifice for me.

So - I've been free of carbonated drinks for about 4 days, roughly.  And it has been a sacrifice.

Usually, I get cravings around lunchtime, because I usually will grab a Diet Coke or a Sprite Zero (if I want to go Caffeine Free) around lunch.  It's weird, but I feel a voice inside telling me (or maybe my internal cravings)... "you know you want one...", and I start to walk toward my fridge (which only includes Sierra Mist right now.. and I don't drink sugary drinks), or if I'm at work towards the break room that has the free coke fountain (a very nice perk)... and then.

I'll be reminded that I gave this up... and then some of the encouragements from friends about they "why" comes to my mind....

I'm sure I'm going to butcher this, because I am not nor never will be Catholic, but here goes.  Lent is basically a 40 day period before Easter where we fast from something special to us (and if we are Catholic engage in certain dietary restrictions) to remind us of the sacrifices that Jesus made for us:  the 40 days of fasting in the desert, the night of agonizing at Gethsemane, and ultimately His laying down his own life for our sakes on the cross so that our guilt can be paid for and we can enjoy fellowship with God through the righteousness of Jesus Christ.  This is a short list of Biblically significant sacrifices, but in fact He sacrificed so much to come to our rescue... such as...

• He enjoyed the unending worship of angels in Heaven to being marginalized on earth
• He was homeless, on earth
• The Son of God allowed religious people that claimed they knew God to spit on him and mock him

And I'm thinking it's a sacrifice to miss a black, bubbly, carbonated, artificially sweetened beverage.  

What's been the most awesome about the last couple of days hasn't been the freedom from having to have this thing; but the reminders that when I "miss" the thing I gave up to look upon and relish in the sacrifice Jesus made for me.  This has been awesome, because in my busy life it's so easy to get caught up in stuff and not sit down and reflect on the fact that without this monstrous sacrifice Jesus made for me, I would have no hope.  

And...

To reflect that He did the work to bring me to the place to see, hear, and receive the gift He offered.  That's awesome.  

So, what's been strange is that I expected to get a little stronger in breaking a habit.  That may be true, but I got something even better... I have felt and experienced the love of my Savior so much in the last couple of days because the fasting cravings have given me margin to look at what Jesus did to rescue me and go "Wow!"  And in the sight of THAT love, I have felt so treasured, loved, and valued.  You know, when GOD loves you like that, everything else pales.  Especially...

Missing some silly thing that you thought was so important.  

I hope this blesses all of you... and if you do want to correct my Lent description, feel free to, after all this is new to me :-)