Proverbs 7:2 “Obey my commands and live...write them deep within your heart.”
It has been a week since I fasted. While I was really annoyed during the fast I realized afterward that it didn’t kill me. I didn’t waste away to nothing after missing two meals. I didn’t have to be hospitalized for starvation. I didn’t have to be Medi-Flighted to the nearest deli. But neither did I see any real benefit. I didn’t feel particularly spiritual, and I was still twice the size of Oprah on her fattest day.
I guess I had secretly hoped that since I felt it was God telling me to fast the weight would magically disappear. If Moses could make the Red Sea part down the middle, surely God could make me a size six if He really wanted. Or at the very least deliver me from my love of deep fried chicken. Or cast out the spirit of cake. But, no, I was still the same cookie dough loving, cinnamon roll adoring woman I had been before the fast.
So I decided to give it another stab. That day I skipped two meals and only ate mega-butter flavored popcorn for dinner. But I had an idea: I thought if I watched the Cooking Channel during my fast it would somehow build up my resistance to temptation i.e., food. It went something like this:
Eleven am. Some cute Italian guy is making homemade pizza and then he grills a thick juicy steak the Tuscan way. Hmm, maybe after my fast I’ll run to the store and pick up a steak and a grill.
Twelve pm. Wow, I had no idea that roast ham could look so moist! And I bet those sweet potatoes taste just as good as they look. My mouth is seriously watering. Maybe I should watch something else. No, I’ll be okay, this is helping me resist.
Two pm. Whose bright idea was it to fast? I’m going to eat the furniture in a minute, wait! Is that a honey glaze?
Four pm. Fasting is for the birds! Yum, look at those BBQ ribs. I’ve got to get me some of those. Hang popcorn for dinner, momma wants some ribs!
Five pm arrived, finally! Frankly I was thinking of switching from Pacific Standard Time to Eastern Standard Time just so I could eat three hours sooner. I took stock of myself and decided that I definitely did not have any more resistance to food that day, no offense to the Cooking Channel. I wolfed down the entire bag of microwaved popcorn and enjoyed every buttery kernel.
I woke up the next morning, ravenous as usual. I went to crack my usual two eggs for an omelet, and I suddenly wondered how big an omelet just one egg makes. So that morning I made a one egg omelet, and since it was a smaller omelet I decided I really only needed one slice of toast instead of two. To my surprise my plate looked just as filled as it usually did. I offered up thanks for the meal, and to my happy surprise I ate and was full.