Sometimes, a break is needed

It’s been a couple of months since my last post. Honestly, to be transparent, a break was needed. I took a break from social media and even took a break from the blog. I needed time for a renewal. It all started with my Women’s Bible Study group. During our spring lesson, we talked about our relationships with God. The lesson really had me look at my relationship. I knew my relationship wasn’t where it needed to be and it was time to do something about it. At the end of our spring session, I decided a fast was necessary. I needed to truly put my focus on that and everything else would fall in its place.

2019 started off with a bang. Things seemed to be going well and then a funk came over me and I was struggling to get out. I wanted to share on my blog, work on my other project, get my health in order, and so much more, but I just couldn’t seem to get traction. I began to slip. And the slipping took me to a point of realizing my spiritual side and relationship with God needed some serious work.

During a conversation with my best friend, we discovered we were both in the same boat and we needed a life saver. Who is a better life saver than God? Yeah, I’ll wait? No one! Nothing! We decided to do a fast. We would focus on our relationships with God, by reading Romans and James. Y’all, we didn’t know what we’d just asked for. Oh my gosh! I’m not exactly sure what we thought this fast was going to be, but we quickly learned that God had something else, something major in store.

The first day was a doozy. We fasted from social media and Romans hit us in the throat. It was one of those moments when you get hit out the gate with the first verse and you’re then ready to close your Bible. But you’re reminded of why you started and that not only does the Bible teach, comfort and advise but sometimes, it hurts. Well, we would be hurting for the next few weeks. Out of 16 chapters of Romans, God checked me ALL 16 days. And honestly, it was more like 18 or 19 days because a few chapters I read twice.

God showed me about myself during that time. I couldn’t have written this outcome myself. Only God. I wanted to improve my relationship with Him, but in the process there was some cleaning, some pruning that needed to be done. I mean...y’all, it hurt. I was so thankful to have my bff on this journey with me. God showed us ourselves and it was UGLY. It’s nothing like looking at yourself in the mirror of the Bible. And that is exactly what happened. When I tell you there were days when I just wanted to say, “enough, God! I’ve had enough!” I couldn’t. I had to keep taking that whipping until I got it. And by gosh, I started getting it together.

I described this fast as one of the hardest, yet most fulfilling fast I’ve ever done. I was so excited about it. I was eager to start and ready to have a great relationship with my heavenly Daddy. But what I didn’t think about was how I was going to get to that point. Just like gardening, for things to grow and to continue grow, you have to cut the dead off. You have to keep it trimmed and get the gunk out of the way so it can continue to grow. I had A LOT of gunk on me and I finally was at a point that the gunk was weighing me down and I needed it off. God cleaned me up. It wasn’t pretty and it hurt, but my relationship is better for it. He showed me things about myself, as a wife, as a mother, as a family member and as a friend. And of course He showed me how I treated Him. I’ve never talked to God or depended on Him before, like I have for the last few weeks. That was one of my lessons. I’d been going through the motions with Him and my walk, but not growing my relationship and doing all He has called for me to do. That was a hard realization, but necessary.

Time with our heavenly Daddy is precious and shouldn’t be taken lightly. That time is needed daily. If you’re needing clarity, maybe not the same that I was seeking, I encourage you to fast and journal throughout. Y’all, my journaling helped so much. And it was the most consistent I’ve ever been. If it’s your first time fasting, maybe your won’t go for 20 plus days. Maybe you can start off with 5-7, but do it. Sacrifice something that truly is just that, a sacrifice. Whether it is social media, a particular food or drink, television, a place or etc., fast.

The purpose of fasting- "There is a broader view of fasting that is often overlooked. This is the approach Richard Foster takes when defines fasting as 'the voluntary denial of a normal function for the sage of intense spiritual activity.' So then, fasting does not always deal abstinence from food. Sometimes we may need to fast from involvement with other people, or from the media, from the telephone, from talking, from sleep, etc., in order to become more absorbed in a time of spiritual activity." - Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald S. Whitney.

Scriptures on fasting for reference- Matthew 6:16-18 (Jesus is speaking); Acts 13:2; 14:23; Luke 2:37; Luke 5:33-39

(These are some, but if you want more, please don't hesitate to go to www.gotquestions.org and it will direct you to more scriptures.

Steph :)