Day 3

Today is the first day that I've really felt sick. The first day was more about resisting cravings and yesterday I really only had one craving when one of my roomates made some cinnamon toast in the morning. Yesterday afternoon though, I got a slight headache and by 10:30 pm I was absolutely done and fell into my bed with tiredness and a much worse headache. I skipped my morning classes today because I felt so sick. The salt water has become easier and easier each day though. I was surprised yesterday how much easier it was than the first day and then this morning I just chugged it down like nothing...well, almost.

The five of us had "dinner" together last night. I put our drinks in wine glasses and served it on a tray in our living room. It was fun and we all left very encouraged. We talked a lot about the spiritual side of this fast which really wasn't at all our intent going into it, but at least for me it is impossible to fast like this unless I am depending on the Lord and there is a higher reason for me doing it than just cleansing my body. One of my all-time favorite books is A Hunger for God by John Piper. It is a beautiful book on Biblical fasting. I went back over that the other night and have been reminding myself and my fellow adventurers about its truth. Here are a few little snipits:

"From time to time we need to test ourselves to see if we have begun to love His gifts in place of God."
"The aim of fasting is that we come to rely less on food and more on God."
"Will I find spiritual communion with God sweet enough, and hope in His promises deep enough, not just to cope, but to flourish and rejoice in Him? Or will I rationalize away my need to fast and retreat to the medication of food?"

I am so inspired by this book, which uses Foster's Celebration of Disciplines (another amazing book) as a resource and for some great quotes. It has taught me more about this area of my relationship with the Lord and cultivating, through fasting, a longing for Him and for His kingdom.