On January 20th I, along with over 20,000 other people, joined together for a corporate fast led by Alfred Street Baptist Church. I must admit that when I committed to participating in the fast, I didn’t fully consider the challenges of the progressive, 40-day endeavor.
40 days. No social media. No unnecessary text messages or phone calls. An enforced budget and restricted spending. A gradual progression to a plant-based diet and no coffee, added sugar or preservatives.
I thought surely, I could handle the eating restrictions given my year and a half experience with Eager2Motivate and predominately vegan diet. But what I didn’t consider was how much I’d miss my weekly – at the least – indulgences of something extra yummy, salty, saucy, fatty, fried or any combination thereof.
And my first few days without coffee were PAINFUL!
I was already feeling the tug to spend less time on social media, but didn’t consider how I’d feel when I wanted to connect with distant associates – for example, from my fitness accountability group – who I am not in close enough contact with to exchange phone calls. Or how much I’d miss some of my favorite inspirational or advocacy posts on Instagram. It didn’t even occur to me how much I’d grown to love Friday night movie night #NetflixAndChill.
I live with and by my budget. But when I’m feeling a little “snacky snacky,” or it’s been a long day, or I feel like I want an indulgence, my random stops at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s became a norm. The spending guidelines had me in a chokehold for a bit.
Challenging? YES! Worth every single moment? ABSOLUTELY!
During our daily 7 a.m. prayer call, Pastor Howard John Wesley would remind us that the fast wasn’t just about pushing away from a few things to strengthen our faith, but about creating a new life. That even after the fast ended, the hope wasn’t that we’d readily go back to all the things we put aside during the fast, indulging as much – if not more – than we did before. The goal was to leave some things behind. And my goal was to pick up a few new things.
Community. I reconnected with a friend in December who I’d hadn’t spoken to in at least four years. Surprisingly, they agreed to do the fast with me. We checked in daily and had weekly accountability calls. We never missed a call and our check-ins throughout the day became more frequent as we neared the end of the fast, leaning on the other more liberally for support and encouragement. Our reconnection and time together have been nothing shy of a beautiful blessing.
Clarity. Without the chatter of social media, TV, random texting and all the other things that can cloud our judgment I began thinking more calmly about major decisions. I felt more generous nudges to check in on folks who were on my mind, only to find out every single one of them was in the midst of some major life challenge. I found myself praying for others more.
Focus. This year is a BIG one for me. I have some major decisions to make and they all have significant implications. The last thing I need is to be “all over the place” or indecisive about my actions. During the fast I felt more focused than I have in a long time … clear about what to do and how to move. For this, I am grateful.
It has been six years since I’ve done a fast of this magnitude. Long overdue for sure, but also right on time. There is so much more that happened during the 40 days … deepening my daily prayer, meditation and reading habits, leaning into more intentional community, pulling away from all else that and WHO distract from moving in the direction of my destiny. The time was both a picking up AND a putting down of sorts.
So often we have these incredibly transformational experiences only to go BACK to our former routines, regardless of how gradual this “relapse” may occur. But this time I affirm with every part of my being that there are some things, some places and some people I am not going back to. Can you relate? As we’re approaching spring, what are you leaving behind? What are you not going back to? What are you picking up?