The things I’ve learnt:
•Staying away from certain foods is tough, but fasting is not about food; there is so much more happening here 😅 Yes, I kept the diet strictly to fruits, veggies and grains.
•There’s a strong spiritual aspect about fasting, almost like a cleansing process; that’s what it felt like. Whilst one is going through this process, suddenly certain wiles present themselves in magnitude, but you’re fasting 🧏🏽♀️ it’s recognisable, and one can discern most times.
•I started praying with intention, honesty and conviction because I realised I was praying the way other people pray. Leaders I’ve heard in church and family members (that was not honest). I learnt that prayer is extremely personal. It’s about opening your heart and talking to God and really sharing what’s inside, and maybe sometimes that’s why some prayers don’t get answered because we’re praying other people's prayers or just praying to sound nice and sound like one can pray, you know that stamp of approval.
•I’ve discovered certain chapters in the book of Psalms that also have beautiful prayers that one can use when in turmoil and speechless (Psalms 91,23,70,121&123).
•My prayers consisted of thank you’s and asks. For the asks, God started answering some of them one by one. I began running, I have a routine now and a dam where I run. It’s beautiful. Everybody needs to experience this; I can’t believe I’ve robbed myself of such 🥲 Yoga was not enough for my body; I needed more but couldn’t find the courage to get active, and just suddenly, in the first week of fasting, I found myself looking for places to run and actually going, I begged God to help me overcome my lazy spirit at the cost of whatever… and bam 💥
•I thought I ate well, but now I eat even better; there’s a lot we don’t need to eat.
•I only watched tv once this month, and it was when I went on a date with myself to watch the airing of the Black Coffees show on Podcast & Chill. I never touched a series during the fasting period.
•I slipped three times. One day I came from the salon, and while I was paying at the counter, I took a sweet from the counter bowl and popped it in my mouth; as I was walking, I only remembered that “You are fasting, my sister, no sweets!” The funny thing is I don’t even eat nor buy sweets (you see the devil 😒)
•Another time was last Sunday when the Underdeacon’s wife promised to bring me some cakes when she bakes. The promise has been coming on for quite some time, and it’s okay; nobody was counting, but it was conveniently fulfilled last Sunday at church. She gifted me the koeksisters, and I thought I couldn’t reject them; it would be so rude. I took them home and had them after Sunday lunch. Sunday evening, I got very sick. I’m lactose intolerant, and she knows it as well, but there were still some ingredients that messed me up, but I guess that was my reward for willingly breaking my fast.
•The other slip was with AKA’s passing; the Saturday morning, I was consumed in media about this unfortunate occurrence and had to retract and get back on course because it was just too heartbreaking and created a negative atmosphere.
The highlight of the fast for me is getting to know myself and God more. It was about being honest with myself and seeing if I could keep a promise to myself before I could even think about being loyal to God. The fast helped me treat my life better by treating me better, and this will relay to those around me.
It is really good to fast.
Celeste Williams
Wowos Club Shareholder