Shrove Tuesday and Lent

If there has been a day that we were all unanimously sad to be away from home, it was today, Shrove Tuesday. Indeed, today (or technically our tomorrow AM), our church body gathers together each year and feasts on pancakes, bacon, pancakes, sausage, and pancakes...with lots of butter (or without, if you are kinda weird like my sweet friend; but really, pancakes without butter? Is that a thing?)!  Shrove Tuesday (i.e. Fat Tuesday) is not just any feast day; it's pretty much our family's favorite, hands down [well, okay, its neck-and-neck with Saint C. S. Lewis day in Novemeber! We love breakfast food around here folks].

So, what do you do when you are continents away from some of your favorite people while they celebrate one of your favorite feasts? You make pancakes!

That's right folks, we prepared for Lent in style this evening, eating pancakes, hash-browns, and eggs, complete with homemade syrup (far as I can tell, syrup doesn't exist in Rwanda). Sadly, we were unable to include bacon in our feast (the food Lu is most missing, by the way). But thanks to some help in procuring baking powder while we were in Kigali, we had honest to goodness pancakes. Mmmmmm

I found a Martha Stewart recipe online that I roughly followed. Due to a lack of measuring cups or spoons, excepting the 1 tsp spoon that I randomly packed, Ms Stewart may have found my unconventional technique of "eye ball it, dump it in, stir and hope for the best" a little troubling, but they really did taste good! 

[Note to self: pack some measuring utensils next time you plan to live in and cook food in Rwanda (or anywhere) for more than, say, a day. Duh. Though really, my technique has thus far worked out pretty well for crepes, stove-top cookies, and chapati; why mess with a good thing?]

Oh look, same picture, different parent!

We even had the chance to share our Shrove bounty with our friend, Pacifique. It was his first time eating a pancake.  He said it was delicious...then proceeded to eat 4 or 5 more, so I don't think he was just being polite.

Mo took it upon herself to help Pacifique
learn how to eat pancakes!

With our Shrove Tuesday (Shrove meaning "preparation") celebration behind us, we look toward Lent, the 40 days of preparation that leads up to Resurrection Sunday (aka Easter!).  Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday and I'm still not sure what Lent will look like for me this year. I mean, I've recently given up the use of all household appliances (save the stove), hot showers (except when in Kigali), driving a vehicle, Chick-fil-a (or any fast food, for that matter), ice cream, and bacon. What more is there? 

I could sound really pious and say I've decided to hand wash all our family's laundry, including cloth diapers, for Lent this year, but, umm, yeah, that's kind of missing the point. It actually takes zero discipline to not use an appliance I don't have. 

Okay, for those for whom Lent is new or foreign, don't worry, its not a mandatory observance, nor is it a way to earn God's blessing [it's also not just a Catholic thing...in case you were like me, a former-Baptist-gone-Anglican, who never knew Lent was for Protestants, too]. 


Lent is, however, often marked by giving up or fasting from something, while in turn adding in time for reflecting on the life, suffering, and Passion of Christ. Lent is a season, a season marked by increased discipline and, hopefully, increased being still and knowing that He. Is. God. Not that we should forgo discipline and listening all other times of the year, but much like the the cycles and changes we observe in the natural world, there is a season for everything and Lent, as a season, has its purpose (Ecclesiastes anyone?)!

This picture has nothing to do with Lent.
But don't they look so cute in their new
Sunday best?

Likely, for me, Lent will be marked this year by the addition of something specific, an intentional adding in rather than a taking out. I'm actually really looking forward to this season, in Rwanda. It will be like no other Lent, I'm sure.

Coram Deo - The Mrs Dr.

p.s. If you are celebrating Shrove Tuesday at the Glover's, please feel free to eat an extra piece of bacon for each of us...and, Janie, my girls are pretty sure you (aka "she's-like-a-real-cook-from-a-restaurant, Chef Janie") will cook breakfast for us when we return, just a heads up ;)