40 Days with Jesus: Day 20

A United Methodist pastor in a small Kansas town decided to carry a cardboard cutout of Jesus with him every day for the 40 days of Lent. This series will document some of their adventures. We have affectionately taken to calling the cutout, "CJ" which stands for "Cardboard Jesus."

By Vicky Miller

Everywhere we have moved, before the boxes are even unpacked, Jeff hops in the car and cases our new town looking for the place he will go once or twice a day to get his little treats. This used to drive me crazy. I don’t know how many times I’ve told him we could have built a house on the money he’s spent on his snacks.

When we lived eight miles outside of town, he had to give up his daily snack runs, but was known to occasionally drive into town with a hankering for a Hostess Twinkie or a Diet Coke. Our two children were born during the time we lived in this country house, and while I was pregnant, Jeff had more food cravings than I did. Fortunately, he also regularly jogs and lifts weights and doesn’t eat huge portions, so he has remained trim.

I’ve tried everything: keeping a stock of snacks and pop, putting him on an allowance, threatening to spend the same amount he shells out on junk food for something equally frivolous. (I was always too frugal to carry through on this threat.)

After thirty years of marriage, I’ve given up. I fix and he eats healthy meals; the rest is out of my control. My husband is very appreciative of the meals I fix. Food is just one of the pleasures of life he enjoys. This is the way our daughter put it in her blog:

As I've mentioned in previous posts, I am a Miller, which means I'm a foodie (one who thoroughly enjoys their food to a ridiculous degree). I get this from my dad, who also thinks about the next meal once the present one is finished.

So, as you can imagine, Cardboard Jesus has been to quite a few eating establishments during these past few weeks, although Jeff did share with our congregation that having to carry CJ everywhere he goes has cramped his style a little and cut out some of his unnecessary trips.

Here are some shots of Jeff out and about with CJ. It seems everywhere we go people––teenagers with cell phone cameras, especially––want to have their photo taken with CJ.