Lent Day 2: Passion

 


Last night as I lay in bed waiting for my new natural sleeping drugs to do whatever they were supposed to do Stephen asked me what I was going to blog about today. I looked up at him blearily from reading the contents of the bottle of Natra Sleep I had purchased earlier on in the day and said, 'I have no idea'.

Rewind a few hours yesterday and after my fairly 'medium' day (as Eva would call it) I found myself in Clicks with my kids buying shampoo, as one does. A bottle of something caught my eye as I went down the supplement aisle. Well, to be honest, the red 50% off sticker caught my eye. Few things catch my eye like a 50% off sticker does. It was the only bottle of these pills on the shelf and they were cheaper than they had been before and that is all I really need to know when purchasing something on sale. On further examination of the bottle I discovered that its a natural remedy to help with sleep. I was ready to shout, 'shut up and take my money!... and then put me to bed.'

So I excitedly bought my natural sleeping pills. And then I took two in the evening because that's how much you're supposed to take and I was living on the wild side and not safely taking one to test the waters. And I had had a bad day, after all. I deserved my drugs.

And it was at this moment that Stephen asked me what I was going to write about, and I said I had no idea. I also had no idea what natural drugs I had just ingested... cocaine is, after all, also natural. So in a slight panic I googled the main ingredient of my sleeping aid and the result was 'passion flower'. 

And this is where I'm just going to let God do the talking in His amazing, surprising and mysterious way.

Here's what the internet says about passion flowers...

'A supplement for anxiety and sleep problems, as well as for pain, heart rhythm problems, menopausal problems and ADHD. 

In Christianity, the passion flower symbolizes the Passion of Jesus Christ...The flower parts are used to tell the story of Jesus' death.

  • Five petals and five sepals: Represent the ten apostles who followed Jesus
  • Three stigmas: Represent the three nails used to crucify Jesus
  • Radial filaments or corona: Represent the crown of thorns
  • Five anthers: Represent the five wounds of Jesus
  • Tendrils: Represent the whips used to flagellate Jesus
  • Purple color: The color of Lent
The passion flower is meant to be a reminder to draw close to God, see him more fully, and root oneself in him.'

Amen 


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