Good Morning, it’s me again.
Am I able to make a confession? I feel this is a safe place where I can be honest to all of you.
Well, here is goes:
I don’t like fast Sundays.
There I did it. That takes a lot of stress off of me. I don’t think I have ever said that out loud before.
Why is it such a big deal? Why am I ashamed of my lost love for the monthly event that should be something that I look forward to every month?
To say the least, I have lost the vision and purpose of fasting. After a lifetime as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints I think I have seen everything in a fast and testimony meeting. I have started to see them as a hour to endure rather than an hour to enjoy.
Due to my work schedule I end up attending only 2-3 fast and testimony meetings a year. One of those Sundays was this past week. I remembered that it was fast Sunday and I decided to do something crazy: I actually fasted on fast Sunday!
I took some time to reflect on my own spiritual level and took an inventory of my life. I followed the helpful hints that I found here and I changed my frame of mind when it came to fasting, and more specifically, fast and testimony meeting.
Here are some thoughts I had:
- Fast and testimony meeting is not for my entertainment.
I used to critique testimonies, silently, in my own mind and point out inaccuracies and short-comings in the testimonies of others. Needless to say, I have some repenting to do. Testimony is a personal belief, so who am I to dictate what is accurate in the beliefs of others?
- Fasting is a personal action that everyone does in their own way.
Don’t give the stink eye to someone taking a drink of water in the hallway.
- Fast Sunday is difficult for others, not just for you.
The amount of cranky individuals increases on fast Sunday that is going to happen with a lack of food. This means that you can practice being charitable to others. Kindness is the key.
- Think of fast Sunday as a day that benefits everyone differently, and many are looking for help.
Look for ways you can lift others up. This will lift you up too and make your fast more beneficial.
I am changing my mindset of fasting and realizing that it is not just a thing we do, but a rather a thing we need to do.
And remember, keep the spirit in mind with prayer. Otherwise you are just starving.
“Without prayer, fasting is not complete fasting; it’s simply going hungry. If we want our fasting to be more than just going without eating, we must lift our hearts, our minds, and our voices in communion with our Heavenly Father. Fasting, coupled with mighty prayer, is powerful. It can fill our minds with the revelations of the Spirit. It can strengthen us against times of temptation” (Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin “The Law of the Fast,“ April 2001 general conference).
So maybe I do like fast Sundays after all.