Fairly February

In which we throw beans to scare away the monsters and attempt Lent with the three year old. 

A year ago, I wrote about how our bedtime story reading was interrupted by the chilling wail of our neighbor, screaming “out, out, out” at each of her windows. The start of February is a “good luck” festival here. The mantra is “monsters out, luck in!” For most families, it means kids make cute monster masks out of paper maché and grocery stores carry special deals on dried soy beans (which are thrown to appease and scare off the monsters, and left overs are snacked on). Every store runs a popular “everyone wears monster underwear” song on repeat for a few weeks. This year, our son in first grade brought home some notes from a class discussion in which students discussed how to get rid of the “monsters” of forgetting their homework and sleeping in and telling lies. A more useful and creative application of the mantra than I had seen before. Certainly, there is a social morality to Japanese culture.  

And isn’t it timely to contrast this “good luck” festival, when the following week, Valentines and the start of Lent fall on just the same day. This year, we’re attempting a lent remembrance with our kids. Advent has become a regular part of the kids lives, and certainly Easter has gotten mention, but its tricky to talk about abstaining with a three year old: “You mean I don’t get to watch TV because of Jesus?” and the like. Lent has been tricky for us in recent years; as many parents of young kids might relate to, my husband says that this phase of life is perpetual lent - constant giving up of time-wasters, excess and indulgence for the sake of the small kids who want to be read to. 

This year, we focused this season around prayer, giving and stopping. Each week we plan something or someone specific to pray for, something to give and something to stop. A week seems to be a reasonable time frame for the littles to keep track of, and the variety has helped offset the “Jesus doesn’t like screens” narrative. Unlike other seasons of the Christian calendar, this season gets absolutely no press in Japan, other than the occasional easter bunny themed chocolate box. Even our church, which is struggling to regain footing after our pastor suddenly quit, has made no mention of the season. The fact that it’s just something we’re doing with our little family reminds me of how isolated we are in some ways, despite the fantastic and diverse community we have surrounding us. 

My primary prayer for this month is for wisdom, as parents and as a friend. Specifically for our baby: we’ve met with so many doctors and we have some possible treatment paths laid out for him, but the next few months will be a time of intense decision making, about a lot of things that will shape the boy’s future and his body. Please pray for wisdom for us as we parent this little one.

Likewise, wisdom for our church. As I mentioned, we lost our pastor, who abruptly decided to leave the position about six months ago, after only one year. We feel the lack of a pastoral figure in our lives acutely, although the church’s leadership team is working valiantly to keep moving forward with a clarified vision. Please pray for wisdom for our leadership team, and for us as worshippers and members. 

I have also been asked to sit on the board of CAJ as an alumni representative. Please pray for wisdom as I step into this new position at CAJ. 

In less than two weeks, Ryan will travel to Thailand with the senior class at CAJ. Thanks to the extreme generosity of a relative, I will have a helper staying with us in Ryan's absence, which I am very grateful for. Please pray for traveling mercies for them, as well as a blessed and meaningful experience. Once again, students are partnering with a local Thai school to rebuild buildings, play with Elementary students, and learn more about serving in a cross cultural context.