kristinsdóttir

  I love Shukr.   And I love these fishtail skirts in the black tulip color!

Christ is risen!

I found another great article, this one on gluttony and fasting, in an old Handmaiden magazine (Summer 1996).  It’s called “Gluttony, the Unspoken Sin” and it’s by Terry A. Beck.  Fortuitously, I found this article yesterday, the very day I decided to begin (yet another) anti-gluttony plan. 

This time, I am asking the Theotokos for major assistance  :-)  

Here is my abridged (and hopefully not utterly mangled!)version of Terry’s tips from her article:

1.  Learn to recognize true hunger — eat nothing until you feel your stomach growling hollowly.

2.  Take the fasts seriously — Terry points out that, ideally, on fast days, one eats nothing before 3 p.m.  Giving this a try might help us see that experiencing hunger is not the end of the world!  (I’m not so sure about the idea of forgoing breakfast — if anyone out there has fasted this way, can you speak to how you did with it?  I probably just need to be tougher on myself!)

3.  Pray not just before you eat, but before you choose your menu.  Terry posts scriptures on the fridge to help her remember to do this.  She says she often prays in this way: “O Lord, grant me the strength to choose food that will nourish my body, bring my head and heart satisfaction and peace, keep me walking in obedience to you, and remind me of Your ever-present goodness in my life.”

4.  Plan your hunger — by this she means, for example, that she tries to eat meals with her family.  If her stomach is growling at 4 p.m., she might eat a piece of fruit or something small to tide her over till mealtime.

5.  Learn portion control — try eating half a sandwich, for example, and see if that sates your hunger.

6.  Don’t be afraid to leave food on your plate – Terry says she’s learning to understand that “taste and see that the Lord is good” does not read “gorge and see that the Lord is good!” 

7.  Remember, this renewing gets easier with practice — if Terry falls, she gets up and tries again.  Her plan:  repent, confess, and encourage change with the Eucharist, Scripture, and personal evaluation.

On Pascha, I suddenly had an epiphany about the Theotokos and how she could be a mother figure for me.  (I’m a slow learner, :-) apparently!)  Then last night I found a wonderful article (The Handmaiden, Winter 2003) on just this subject.  It’s called “Finding My Mother, Mary,” and it’s by Carol Wartenberg. 

 Carol says that for a variety of reasons, her own mother was unable to adequate “mother” her.  However, glory to God, she became Orthodox as an adult and found she was able to turn to the Theotokos to ask for help with mothering her own daughters.  “Yes,” Carol Wartenberg, “the Theotokos has always been there for me and for my children, and she is there for you also…”

 ”Do you know a child,” asks Carol, “who does not have the benefit of a mother’s love, whether through death, divorce, or neglect?  Show this child what earthly kindnesses you are able to manage.  Pray for this child to the Lord, above all.  Finally, remember to ask our dear Mother to make intercession for this lonely innocent.”

From the Supplicatory Canon to the Most Holy Theotokos:

Distressed by many temptations, I flee to thee, seeking salvation.  O Mother of the Word, and Virgin, from ordeals and afflictions deliver me. O most holy Theotokos, save us. Outburst of passions trouble me and fill my soul with great despondency.  Calm it, O Maiden, by the peace of thy Son and God, O all-blameless one. Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. I implore thee who gavest birth to the Savior and God, O Virgin to deliver me from perils.  For, fleeing now unto thee for refuge, I lift up both my soul and my reasoning. Both now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen. Ailing am I in body and soul, do thou vouchsafe me the divine visitation, and thy care, O thou who alone art the Mother of God, for thou art good and the Mother of the Good.  

I was emailing with someone who knows me only through the Net and in the course of our conversation about hats she said, about a particular hat we were discussing, that “the pattern you sent leaves the front of the hair exposed” and she mentioned that she knew I like to cover my hair, so wouldn’t I prefer a hat that came down over the front of the hairline?

 This is what I said in reply.

“My blog is (unintentionally!) deceptive. I like hats, but covering all my hair, though it’s a practice that fascinates me, is not something I do on a regular basis every single day. Sometimes my hair (which is getting rather long) hangs down and only the top of my head is covered. Sometimes I put it in two braids. Sometimes I tuck it all in. Sometimes I have my hat further down on my forehead and sometimes (like today), it’s pushed back.  You know, kind of Frida Kahlo-ish, when she’d wear the wreathed stuff on her head a little further back.

Sometimes I do not cover my head at all, though lately I have it covered more often that not.

Though I respect the women who cover for religious reasons , I only wish I were noble enough :-) (or whatever) to do that all the time.  I’m not convinced that this is something that contemporary women are called to do (some of us Orthodox folks in the States cover our hair in church, but many don’t – it’s more common in other countries for Orthodox women to cover in church).

But … still (strangely) I have to say that lately I am really drawn to covering it. But I suspect it’s probably the lure of variety that makes headcoverings attractive to me. I am so tired of just about every hairstyle and haircut!  And hats and headscarves offer another wonderful way to layer and add color and so on.

So.  This way of thinking about headcoverings may change at any time.  I may look at it more religiously tomorrow. 

 There are wonderful women who do.

Or I may just end up with an ingrained habit that happens to coincide nicely with a beautiful religious custom.

And so it goes. 

(photo credit to Julia A.  She’s wearing a headscarf because she is visiting an Orthodox monastery)

Today is the second anniversary of my chrismation into the Orthodox Church.  (the pic is another of my gluebook pages)