Lent Has Changed. Or We Have?

When my daughters were young, I wrote about "Lent with Young Children."

We always did our Lamb of God calendar:

We put beans in the Sacrifice Jar for every tiny, kind act, and every prayer sincerely uttered: 

We made caterpillars from egg cartons, baked homemade pretzels, read about saints, talked about prayer, learned new prayers, went to daily Mass more often, and dropped iridescent purple stones into a teacup to count down the days until Easter.

And now? My girls have outgrown all the lovely, childish, beloved traditions they grew up with. Cotton balls, beans in a jar, and shiny stones are things of the past. But you know what? New traditions have emerged as young women have slowly appeared, replacing the children in this house.

Last night, Betsy gave a witness talk, about her relationship with Mary, to a group of 7th and 8th graders. It came about by chance (I mean the way in which she was asked to do it) but she saw God's hand in the timing, and she said yes, although she doesn't like to speak to groups. And as she chatted about what she planned to say, Ramona chimed in with her perspective, too:  "Do you know how I would explain it? It's like you have a best friend, but better than any friend you have on earth, and you can tell her everything." The talk went beautifully, by all accounts, and Betsy was so glad she said yes.

Lent with old children is nice, too.