Thursday, March 20, 2008

Food Fast

I didn't set out today with a fast in mind. The fact that I was fasting came to me mid-fast.

Last night before I went to bed, I decided that I wanted a smoothie for breakfast. So this morning, I picked up a smoothie on my way to work. About mid-morning, I decided that it might be a good idea to give my digestive system a little break by sticking to liquids today. I'd never done that of my own will before. And as with every first, I've learned some lessons. The most noticeable was that I have the potential to drink a lot of liquid if I forego solid food.

To most people, that's nothing new. But to this girl who is lucky to swig down a bottle of water during the day, which I know is a bad thing, it was a huge accomplishment to drink over 64 ounces of liquid, and most of that occurred before 5 p.m. I simply do not get thirsty. Or I'm unable to notice my thirst because I crowd it out with food.

Tomorrow, I'll go back to real food because I've felt what hunger is today. But I'm hoping that I'll also learn to recognize when I'm thirsty and be able to satisfy that with water instead of overcoming it with food. And I hope that I will recognize this tendency--to fill a need with something less than what is needed--in other areas of my life as well.

3 comments:

Lynda Meyers said...

Thanks for reading and commenting today. I think you might be the only person who actually read my post! That's ok though - it's all a part of the process...

About fasting? I'm not a very good (read 'successful') faster. Never have been. But the times when He has initiated the fast I have always learned valuable lessons that I could take with me into other areas of my life.

Journal those little things. Begin keeping a diary about what you "notice" that is new/different/understanding something that you didn't before. It's good to go back to those and realize God's hand has been in our lives a lot more than we often notice!

Happy Easter!

TJ Wilson said...

Ok, I'm just shocked you drank so much. That was as much an accomplishment as the fast, friend! :)

Alyssa said...

Madison - No problem. I love to read on the weekends but find that most people aren't posting then. Always enjoy reading your posts at The Master's Artist on Saturdays. And I have been keeping a gratitude journal of sorts to help me be intentional about remembering God's faithfulness.

TJ - I was shocked as well. I would have bet that it was impossible!