Jesus and coffee creamer

Our kids go to catholic school. At the beginning of Lent, we were eating breakfast one morning and talking about giving something up for Lent. I was trying to encourage them to make a positive change. The kids were talking about not fighting with each other or doing a good deed every day. My mom shared with them that she wrote a letter everyday during Lent.

I was trying to talk about the significance of sacrifice and Lent. How it was important to be mindful of making a change or choice everyday. Giving something up or changing a bad habit is about being mindful of making a sacrifice like Jesus did. I was not doing a very good job explaining it.

Naomi asked me what I was going to do for Lent. I told her that last year I gave up coffee creamer. The yummy good stuff that tasted like you melted a candy bar in your coffee. I would go through a bottle a week! See my problem with sugar!?!

Naomi looks at me, with the most plain and serious face and says "What does Jesus have to do with coffee creamer?". It seemed so silly to her. And it was a big deal to me. But guess what, I never went back to coffee creamer. Well, we had a brief affair during Christmas, but I was celebrating Jesus's birth. And nothing says Happy Birthday Jesus better than Peppermint Mocha.