Starving Your Inner Child? (Week 2, Reflection 1)

Like everyone, I have an inner child.  And mine doesn't like to play by the rules.  While I'm all nice and law-abiding on the outside, my inner child plays a headstrong game of hide-and-go-seek.  He's looking for loopholes.

One of the Lenten loopholes he's found is this:  fasting doesn't have to be literal.  In other words there are plenty of things you can profitably fast from without disturbing your three square meals a day.  That sort of non-food-related fasting is so valuable, in fact, we'll talk about it in the next post.  But I still need to face down my inner child, who thinks he's pulled one over on God.  "No need to actually go hungry, right?" he asks.  "Not so fast, kid," I tell him.  "Yes, we'll fast in creative ways this Lent.  But we're also going to do some good old-fashioned fasting from food, as well!"

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If my inner child looks upset, it's for good reason.  Fasting from food hurts.  That's actually part of the whole point of it.  Fasting is a way of de-toxing from my addiction to comfort.  So fasting is, by definition, uncomfortable.  It doesn't feel good at all.

Now.  A couple of words of caution…  Fasting is not dieting.  While going on a diet may be a useful thing for me to do, I don't cut out sweets for Lent in order to drop a few pounds.  The Lenten season is not preparation for swimsuit season.  It's preparation for walking more closely with God.  We fast so that we can pray.

One other word of warning…  In our day, many people struggle with eating "issues."  If the idea of fasting is attractive to you for the wrong reasons (that is, because you struggle with some sort of eating disorder)--don't fast from food!  Rather, you might consider fasting from fasting (in a moderate and healthy way).

For many of us, though, Lent is a perfect time to experiment with literal fasting.  It doesn't have to be complicated. Start small.  Consider skipping one meal, either once or several times a week.  Do drink water and stay hydrated. (If you'd like more information on fasting, you might want to check out the very thorough material available for free on Campus Crusade's website.)

The time and energy you'd normally devote to preparing and eating food?  Use it to focus on God.  The discomfort and pain?  Use it to identify in a very small way with Jesus on his cross-bound journey, and to cause you to lean more fully on the Father.  Jesus told his food-minded disciples:  "I have food to eat that you know nothing about… My food…is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work" (John 4:32-34).  Ask God to feed you spiritually, with his own company.

And be prepared:  when you fast, your inner child is going to do a fair amount of complaining.  Look her in the face and be gentle but strong.  You're teaching her to follow Jesus, after all.  When she grows up, your inner child will thank you.