On Healing and Lent

Usually on Ash Wednesday I share what I am doing for Lent.  It's never to boast or brag - I think there is something fundamentally contradictory in trying to "out lent" or "one up" someone during this season.  I share for the accountability to myself.  If I write it down and tell people I am much more likely to get the most out of it.

This year's Lent requires a little back story.

Many of you know that I have been struggling with binge eating, my weight, back & joints, stomach, depression and anxiety for the last ten or so years.  I have grown tired of pills and being told to "get over it" - it's not a way of life I want to continue.  I shared that I hit rock bottom over the summer when I nearly committed self harm.   (Please know, I absolutely believe there is a time and place for medication especially in these desperate situations)

Over the last three years I have taken an interest in nutrition and food sensitivities and how they correlate to things like anxiety, depression, inflammation, etc.  For some people, all of these things can be healed with a few diet changes.

However, I could never pinpoint exactly what my sensitivities were.  I had a chiropractor three years ago who was helping me get started but she moved out of the country just as we were hitting a stride.  I have no doubt that God lead me to my current chiropractor. She has picked up where we left off.

She referred me to a new doctor who specializes in ailment I have been struggling with.  It's been a few months and we're still working towards a clear diagnosis, but I have something along the lines of adrenal fatigue from too much (self-inflicted) stress and some kind of reaction to food like that of an autoimmune disease. When you're trying to get to the bottom of so many ailments, a lot of time and attention to detail goes into an understanding of what is the cause vs what is the symptom.

Right now I am on a 4 month elimination diet from 14 foods (some are food groups, like all squashes) and some thyroid support supplements as a trial to see if this helps reduce the inflammation in my body.  I am also doing low impact exercise 2-3 days a week. And seeing my spiritual director for emotional and spiritual support.

Given all these changes I am working through, I have decided on the following for Lent:

Prayer -

Read Be Healed: A Guide to Encountering the Powerful Love of Jesus in Your Life per the suggestion of my Spiritual Director

Fasting- 

• Go full force with my elimination diet. It's taking every ounce of my will power to stick to it. Fourteen foods is a lot of work.  Having Lent as an additional motivator is really helping.
• Because of the foods included in my elimination diet, giving up meat on Friday's is really hard for me to get enough calories/protein to keep up with nursing, so on Fridays I am fasting from social media and keeping to small meat portions.

Almsgiving-

I have given up online shopping with PayPal for the next 40 days - so things like Etsy, cloth diapers, B/S/T kids clothing Facebook pages, etc. - I am not sure what we'll do with the extra cash. Probably donate it to Mustard Seed Communities, a group of orphanages in Nicaragua that our parish supports.

What have you given up for Lent?  How is it going so far?