21 Day Fast Reflections: Opportunities

Tomorrow will be day 20 of our churches annual 21 day first fruit fast. For 21 days each January we only eat minimal proportions foods from the earth, restrict our media intake and folly and reserve ourselves to prayer and devotion. Its a time where we collectively humble our hearts and bodies to posture ourselves to hear from God concerning the upcoming year.
Im not much of an eater so I thought that as it related to food, this year would be a relatively simple year for me. Aside from the general blah redundancy of veggies, fruits and lentils, I figured that if I could time my allotted meals I could make out fairly unscathed. You know, lose a little holiday weight, add some prayer and boom! it'd be January 31st before I knew it. Well, I can report that I did lose some weight, about 12 lbs to be exact so far, and I did some prayer...actually, I did a lot of prayer, and henceforth, this blog. This fast was not difficult because I couldn't eat, it was difficult because of what I could eat. I never thought that what I could eat in a fast would bless me the way it did.

First, let me digress so you'll understand what I mean. About this time last year I was returning from a South African missionary trip where some of the nights were, lets say, less than spectacular. We spent a few nights were we slept in mud huts where there was no furniture, electricity, toilets and things of the such. A few of the days I suffered terribly from diarrhea bc I accidentally drank my juice from a cup that was washed in the local water instead of from our bottled water. There was even a night I actually saw the chicken we ate for dinner when it was still alive (gross!). Many of the nights we ate unfamiliar meals in unfamiliar environments. We were away from all 'normal' conveniences like running water, indoor restrooms, sinks to wash before we ate, etc. At one point in time I was so uncomfortable, so inconvenienced that I remember thinking to myself that next year I would take an easier trip-a much easier one; one where I had a hotel to sleep in EVERY night!

One particular day after a long day of serving we were served this porage type mixture consisting of corn, beans, and rice. It wasn't esthetically appealing, let alone tasty. But I was so hungry. My mind kept telling me how I didn't want 'this stuff' but my stomach reminded me how much I did. Taste didn't matter most days. Even when we went to a town store, it still wasn't what I was used to, it was just better than what I had. I gobbled down the food and made due. That day and next few days I was never angry about the food, just ungrateful. However, with that meal an interesting thing began to happen with each day. As I pondered my conveniences at home, the more my heart felt for my African brothers and sisters. Not pity. They didn't want or expect pity. It wasn't because of the food or lack there of either. It was because at the core of who we all were, we were all just people. We loved our families, treasured our relationships and desired to celebrate our God. These folks were intelligent and as savvy as any one of my most scholarly comrades. While food is just my example used to exemplify our differences, the differences weren't the food at all it was in our opportunities. We are so blessed to be afforded opportunities for education, employment, sustenance, to sell and idea, etc. and how many times do we take for granted opportunities? In light of this thought, I was perplexed because the inconvenience that initially made me bitter, was making me gentler.
I saw things differently after that meal. Their hospitality in mud huts reminded me that you have nothing to be ashamed of as long as you are doing the best with what you have. At dinner the prayers were spirited and all joined in, reminding me that food is not automatic, but a blessing. I had over 100 US dollars in my pocket and had no place to spend it, and it reminded me that where there are no resources money doesn't matter, faith does- and they had plenty of faith!

I shared this story because around day 17 of this fast I found myself at my kitchen counter with a similar meal that turned my month long missions trip around: a bowl of corn, beans, and rice mixed. I was a little pouty because, well being 17 days into a fast can do that to you. But while my wife brought my bowl to me, I was reminded of the story I just told you and more importantly the lesson I learned about me: the more inconvenienced I was, the more gentler I became to those affected in the area I was inconvenienced. I wonder if this was the thought process of Jesus when he came to share in the earth experience with us. Did he compare our conditions it with where he came from? Did the stark differences compel him to hurt for us? Weep for us? Care for us? Want to help us? Did our condition make him gentler?

I have no answer to that but I do know that before we ate dinner that night my wife and I held hands and thanked God for the food and opportunities.

Whether you participated in this fast or not, its important to remember that if you eat any kind of meal more than three times a week, you eat more than nearly half of the population of the earth eats. If you have running water, electricity, a chair in your abode, and a 3rd grade education you are among the elite in the earth. Perhaps maybe not among the elite in your circle, but considering, you are blessed. These annual fasts remind me that our blessedness should produce kinder, gentler people, not arrogant ones. I need this fast every year. I need mission trips. I need to remember this feeling, because these experiences birth from me a genuine compassion to those I serve...

"for we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched by the feeling of our infirmities..." Hebrews 4:15