Busy Days ~ Clean Week ~ Lent Week One 2020

I found this recipe for lentil loaf with mushroom gravy

if my local store near church has red lentils and mushrooms,

I will be able to make it tomorrow morning... 

Mr Husband works from home tomorrow... 

***

Yesterday was day one of Great Lent. 

It was an intense day.

A bit worried about the virus coming and Mr Husband

having to work from home in the future,

I went to our local big grocery store by light rail yesterday.

Years ago I got mono and I still feel one of the reasons was taking

the train to NYC.  

(Other reasons included doing to much, not resting when I should have,

having one event that had more sugar than I expected)...

so yes, I wore plastic gloves from light rail, to grocery shopping to light rail.

Then I put them in a local area garbage can near the light rail where

I got off to go to church.

If I would have known two things

1. my Husband was advised to have more lentils 

2. the recipe I mentioned above  

I would have already had the red lentils and mushrooms.

But I also spent a good amount of time in my pantry this morning

(after rearranging it yesterday a bit so I had a good spot for some

shelf stable vegetables) finding the ingredients I already had for

this recipe.  It's an involved recipe but I had everything already other 

than red lentils and fresh mushrooms.

I am thinking of making this and freezing some of it in slices

between parchment paper and then foil and then a freezer bag.

***

I found this article, like Juliana, a friend of over 7 years now, to be helpful.

(Also helpful was the article I found it in about how to prepare for

the virus that is scaring so many)

Realizing that adjustment reactions are normal and even helpful to the 

person in a situation that has just shifted towards something

unexpected that changes one's daily life, has been

encouraging... the panic one sees from the news is well, 

just exhausting.

Seeing shelves emptied at our local big grocery store of

Clorox/Lysol wipes and rice was a bit crazy.

People are scared.

There were two men working at that store bringing BOXES 

on dollies of Lysol spray.

I've never seen anything like it.

I admit I bought one container of the Lysol spray.

My laundry room shelves already have a good amount of cleaning

supplies and I bought germicidal face wipes last week online

that came already on Sunday.

The woman behind me (a beautiful kindly faced Asian woman) 

had in her grocery stash 2 bottles of bleach!

Given everything that may be possible,

I feel we are nearly as ready as we can be.

***

Last night was the first night of the Canon of St Andrew of Crete.

one of my friends and I talked about the irony of everyone preparing

food and supplies but not preparing their souls.

This beautiful set of prayers is very much about doing just that

as we seek to repent and prepare ourselves for

Holy Week and Pascha and also for, when God so wills,

our own death or of Christ, our Holy Bridegroom, returning.

***

I have various friends who have had trauma in their lives

and I am seeing how those who have had such things

get more scared about things now (like the virus).

***

For me, I can struggle with fear about Lent itself because

it has at times been times of sickness for us.

***

Lent is also a time when we see our own weaknesses more

and that we have to come to Christ and ask Him to 

carry us through, carry us to Pascha (Easter).

***

And so I do indeed ask God for this mercy! 

May Christ carry us in His merciful arms to Pascha!