Simplicity, Week 4: Lent Begins

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent. (More on Lent here if you're interested.) One Lent tradition is fasting. Yes, fasting. Like, from food.

I like to eat. I'm constantly hungry. Sometimes I'm in the middle of eating dinner and I think, "I'm so hungry, I can't wait for dinner. Oh, right, here it is."

I've tried fasting three times in my life. The first time was as a teenager, for the 30-Hour Famine, a fundraiser for ministries around the world supporting those in hunger. It didn't work out at all - I got dizzy and grumpy and it was awful. The second time I was a youth leader, again doing the 30-Hour Famine. I couldn't even get myself to do it as a good example for the youth.

Then, last year during Lent, I tried it again - one day (not 30 hours, just 24). It was fantastic. I was so aware of God's presence and love. I was so aware of how much I depend on God. I was hungry, yes, but that hunger was just a constant reminder, saying, God is here, God is here, God is here. I understood Jesus saying that we don't live by bread alone. It was truly one of the greatest days of my life.

I wanted to try it again, but just haven't gotten around to it. God is leading me to it now, as something to practice during Lent: I'm going to fast one day each week. Erik and I are also going to decrease our weekly discretionary cash by 10% (since I'm skipping a couple of meals), and we're going to give away whatever we don't spend, and also that extra 10%, each week.

As it happens, I'm in the middle of the first day of fasting right now.

I'm in a very different place than I was a year ago, and this has been a bit of a rough week. Not great fodder for fasting. Yesterday at dinner time I almost quit - before even really starting. I'm hungry. I'm a little bit grumpy. So far, this 24 hours of fasting is not having the same effect that it did last year.

But, well, that's part of the process. That's part of the gift. When Jesus went into the desert for 40 days and fasted, of course there were times when he was hungry, when he was grumpy, there were times when it was not great. But with time, it was transformative.

So today, I'm praying for transformation. I'm praying that with time, this practice that has been used by Christians for centuries will again bring me closer to God. I'm praying that I can again experience hunger not just as something to endure, but as a reminder that I do not live on bread alone, as a tangible, physical reminder of God's presence and love.

What are you doing to observe Lent? When we really enter into this season of simplicity, repentance, generosity, and yes, fasting, then when Easter comes, we get to see the miracle with open eyes - we get to see that it really is a miracle. So how are you entering this season?