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I love Lent. It’s no secret. My family knows it, my friends know it, anyone who has any communication with me during this season of unburdening knows it.
So it was not a complete surprise to my husband and children when I announced at dinner one February night that I had a new little thing planned for Lent, and I would like them to be open and participate. My suggestion was met with the typical protests: “I don’t have time” (from the older ones), and “I’m too little, right?” (from the youngest, who was seven). It wasn’t going to be easy.
I reached back to the buffet and picked up the Easter basket I had placed there. This will be our “sin basket,” I said, setting it on the table. The crowd was not impressed. I reached in and pulled out a handful of folded strips of white paper and explained the ritual. The slips of paper represented shortcomings: a bad attitude, lack of compassion, a selfish act…
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