On Fasting and the Dependence on Food
So, I started a fruit and liquids fast a few days ago and I have since discovered how much I look forward to the ingestion of food at several points during the passage of my day. I'm not overweight or have unhealthy eating habits, but food is nonetheless a huge part of my day/life. Whether it's bread and eggs in the morning, eba and okra soup in the afternoon, yam and plantain pottage in the evening, thinking about what soup I'm gonna cook next week... I just love food.
Now, because all I've been eating are fruits, vegetables and liquids, I am pretty much constantly hungry, as I try to subdue this body of mine. But beyond the natural hunger pangs, I realise that I think about food a lot, and when I think about food I get excited. I know this now because each time I've thought about food these past few days, I have had to remind myself that I cannot eat whatever I want and my mood has instantly plummeted; like Dang, so no akara and dundun for me today sha!
The struggle is real.
At one point in my Christian walk, I was opposed to fasting; mainly because I saw it as a means of punishment, despite Jesus stating the importance of prayer and fasting. I just thought, "I can give up other stuff, like TV, make-up, social media etc" (which, in my opinion, work perfectly fine as long as you are giving up something that you know is basically integral to your being, which is the point of fasting).
But since I started this fast, I realise that I do depend on food significantly and therefore cutting it off and restraining myself means that I am forced to fill in the spaces food has taken up in my life with the presence of God, with prayer and with the Word. So, instead of thinking about food and getting giddy and excited, the purpose is to think about God and get giddy and excited!
And I ain't gonna lie; I've been wanting to do a detox for a while now so these fruits and veggies finna clear up a sister's system real nice :)
Cheers to the new week!
- Ibiene
Now, because all I've been eating are fruits, vegetables and liquids, I am pretty much constantly hungry, as I try to subdue this body of mine. But beyond the natural hunger pangs, I realise that I think about food a lot, and when I think about food I get excited. I know this now because each time I've thought about food these past few days, I have had to remind myself that I cannot eat whatever I want and my mood has instantly plummeted; like Dang, so no akara and dundun for me today sha!
The struggle is real.
At one point in my Christian walk, I was opposed to fasting; mainly because I saw it as a means of punishment, despite Jesus stating the importance of prayer and fasting. I just thought, "I can give up other stuff, like TV, make-up, social media etc" (which, in my opinion, work perfectly fine as long as you are giving up something that you know is basically integral to your being, which is the point of fasting).
But since I started this fast, I realise that I do depend on food significantly and therefore cutting it off and restraining myself means that I am forced to fill in the spaces food has taken up in my life with the presence of God, with prayer and with the Word. So, instead of thinking about food and getting giddy and excited, the purpose is to think about God and get giddy and excited!
And I ain't gonna lie; I've been wanting to do a detox for a while now so these fruits and veggies finna clear up a sister's system real nice :)
Cheers to the new week!
- Ibiene
Comments
Post a Comment