Fasting for Dummies

Today is Ash Wednesday, one of two church-obliged days of fasting [the other is Good Friday]. The Church, in her wisdom, is quite generous with what counts as "a fast"--no in-between meals and two meals smaller than normal. [We are also to abstain from meat today.] For people who are too old or young or infirmed, they are dispensed with the requirement to fast.

For me, if I try to count up what I ate and compare it to what I plan to eat, it really ruins the whole point of "fasting" because I find myself obsessing with the food itself. NOT GOOD! So for me, what I do is this: I don't eat. I go as long as I can without eating. When I hear my stomach growl or get a headache, I might drink some water or eat a piece of bread. I might take some Tylenol. Or, knowing what a hungry body does, I might hear its growling and wait for about 10-15 minutes. That hungry feeling does go away. It'll be back in about an hour. These are moments of prayer, if one wishes. Think something like, "Lord, I give you my hunger. Feed me with your Word." It's very simple, really. Turn off the bodily needs and tune into the spiritual ones.

DFC Update: the small drawer to the left of the vanity. Formerly filled with old Mary Kay compacts, discontinued colors and the stuff I rarely use. Now set up with acrylic lipstick holders and the stuff I do use.