{"id":5984,"date":"2016-02-17T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2016-02-17T13:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/?p=5984"},"modified":"2026-02-26T13:46:47","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T19:46:47","slug":"french-braiding-my-way-to-a-holier-lent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/2016\/02\/17\/french-braiding-my-way-to-a-holier-lent\/","title":{"rendered":"French braiding my way to a holier Lent"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Photo
Photo by Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I am trying to teach myself how to French braid hair. As the mother of two daughters, one of whom was able to donate 10+ inches of hair at age three (with pigtails to spare), I feel that mastering this skill now is a savvy investment in my future time management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My first attempt at a French braid several months ago was pathetic. Upon seeing herself in the mirror, even my four-year-old felt the need to be gentle with my ego, reassuring me in a Daniel Tiger-inspired pep talk: \u201cWell, it\u2019s not the best \u2026 But keep tryin\u2019!  You\u2019ll get better!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was right, of course. After months of disastrous braiding attempts, I can now send my daughter to school with her hair in a style that is (if not quite red carpet-ready) at least identifiable as a French braid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It occurred to me, while doing my daughter\u2019s hair on Ash Wednesday, that a French braid is a pretty good metaphor for the Lenten spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Lent we are meant to attend specifically to these three \u201cstrands\u201d of holiness; weaving them together, bolstering each one as we proceed. They should be united in a tight, well-ordered plait. If we neglect any one of them\u2014if, for example, we fast but do not pray\u2014then our Lenten braid is lumpy and uneven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Lenten braids are always<\/em> lumpy; at times, they are so disheveled as to be unidentifiable. I tend to begin Lent with lofty expectations of my imminent spiritual accomplishments, only to be disappointed by the reality of my own clumsiness. I usually have to \u201cstart over\u201d at least once before the end of February.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Photo
Photo by Nicole Steele Wooldridge<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

But, just like French braiding, the more time I spend attempting to fast, pray, and give alms, the easier it is to do so \u2026 and the more natural it feels to integrate one into the other, weaving them together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though fasting is only one-third of the equation, it\u2019s typically the \u201ccelebrity\u201d pillar of Lent. In past years, I have taken the path that Pope Francis advocates<\/a>: fasting from a specific uncharitable attitude or behavior. This year, though, I wanted to try to assume those fasts of the soul into a more traditional fast of the body: specifically, abstaining from alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I politely decline a glass of wine with dinner, I am reminded to say a prayer of thanksgiving for all the necessities and luxuries I can<\/em> enjoy this day, and\u2014before bed\u2014I donate the cost of a drink to charity. In researching the charity to which I wish to donate today, my mind and heart are opened to the multitude of crosses that others bear, and the multitude of ways in which I could train my fingers to better be the hands of Christ in easing their burdens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I fumble; I fail; I begin again. The more I practice, the tighter the strands become.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of Lent, I emerge with a braid: imperfect and unglamorous, but nonetheless beautiful in God\u2019s eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nicole Steele Wooldridge writes from the Seattle, Washington area, where she is attempting to teach herself some basic middle-school skills. Next up: sewing on a button.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I am trying to teach myself how to French braid hair. As the mother of two daughters, one of whom was able to donate 10+ inches of hair at age three (with pigtails to spare), I feel that mastering this skill now is a savvy investment in my future time management. My first attempt at...","protected":false},"author":51099403,"featured_media":5987,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[698755598,2178641],"tags":[2959569,16332,1100082,624509,63485,56504,9954,133229,214,1225321,1023377,401,43523,9310592,7816,112332,698755380,347204,154615063,853,462015267,77956,16801181,1308493,453288],"series":[698756626],"class_list":["post-5984","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-christian-family-life","category-prayer-and-spirituality","tag-abstaining","tag-alcohol","tag-almsgiving","tag-ash-wednesday","tag-beautiful","tag-burdens","tag-charity","tag-christ","tag-christianity","tag-clumsiness","tag-disheveled","tag-faith","tag-fasting","tag-french-braids","tag-god","tag-holiness","tag-lent","tag-lumpy","tag-pope-francis","tag-prayer","tag-spiritual-accomplishments","tag-spiritual-disciplines","tag-three-strands","tag-uneven","tag-unidentifiable","series-messy-jesus-business"],"acf":[],"episode_featured_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/braid-i1.jpg","episode_player_image":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/wp-content\/plugins\/seriously-simple-podcasting\/assets\/images\/no-album-art.png","download_link":"","player_link":"","audio_player":false,"episode_data":{"playerMode":"dark","subscribeUrls":{"apple_podcasts":{"key":"apple_podcasts","url":"","label":"Apple Podcasts","class":"apple_podcasts","icon":"apple-podcasts.png"},"stitcher":{"key":"stitcher","url":"","label":"Stitcher","class":"stitcher","icon":"stitcher.png"},"google_podcasts":{"key":"google_podcasts","url":"","label":"Google Podcasts","class":"google_podcasts","icon":"google-podcasts.png"},"spotify":{"key":"spotify","url":"","label":"Spotify","class":"spotify","icon":"spotify.png"}},"rssFeedUrl":"https:\/\/customwordpresssites.com\/mjb\/feed\/podcast\/messy-jesus-business","embedCode":"

French braiding my way to a holier Lent<\/a><\/blockquote>