All You Need Is Love

I woke up this morning thinking about what I might do for Lent.

I'm still not sure if I'll attend Mass today, as I tend to get a bit panicky and weepy when I go by myself. (Ah, Catholic guilt and shame, what a lovely combination...) However, I was thinking I want to do something that evokes love the way Jesus does.

I'm not too down with the austerity thing, most probably for selfish reasons, but also because I don't really see the point of giving up Diet Coke or red meat or coffee for 40 days. How does that strengthen my soul? I prefer to do something rather than give up something.

In the past year I lost two people I loved dearly without saying many things I always wish I had. For that reason, I decided to write love letters for Lent.

Most people think of love letters as what one writes to someone with whom one is in a relationship. Not me. I have an entire box filled with letters from my family and friends that I've received since I moved to California over fifteen years ago, and every single one of those is a love letter. In some of my darker times, I would open that box to read something that someone wrote to me years ago that made me smile or laugh and gave me a glimmer of hope and purpose.

My goal is to write one letter each day to someone in my life who I love and who has not heard enough from me about how they make my life fuller, richer, better, and happier just by being a part of it. Some people might consider it the easy way out of Lenten sacrifice, but I think it will be worth it to someone...and hopefully not just me.