Fasting = Slow but Good

A couple weeks ago I decided that I wanted to fast from sundown Maundy Thursday to sundown Good Friday. I haven't fasted in a long time, but I've really felt like God has put it on my heart to try again. Our church (Vista Community) has been going through a series on spiritual disciplines, and even though fasting isn't one that they have focused on, it's one that I don't spend any time doing, so I wanted to revisit it. I also thought that it would be a good way to help me reflect and meditate on Jesus' sacrifice on the day we remember his death.

As Holy Week began, I realized that I wasn't going to have time for a long run again this Saturday. I had another choir practice and a Starbucks shift to work, but I was completely free on Friday. Hmmm... a 12 mile run on an empty stomach. I contemplated canceling or moving my planned fast, but then I decided that God put it on my heart for a reason and that He could provide me the strength I needed, much like He did for Daniel. I also decided that though I would fast from food, I would still drink water and Gatorade.

Friday morning, instead of breakfast, I read from 1 Samuel and Psalms. Then I filled up my water bottles with Gatorade and got in my car to head over to the Olentangy Trail. A popular greenway for cyclists, runners, dog-walkers, etc, it offers a 13.75 mile route along the Olentangy River from Worthington Hills (on the north side of Columbus) all the way to downtown, with trailheads at several major city parks. I'd been wanting to check it out for some time but kept waiting for a long enough run to make the drive worth it. I wish I hadn't waited so long (it's only a 20 minute drive). The trail was beautiful, and I loved running it. I started my run at about 10am and felt pretty good. The sun was out, the air was still slightly cool, and I wasn't hungry. I did notice that my pace was slower than normal, but for the most part the first five miles felt fairly normal. I had downloaded a sermon that I missed from the weekend we had guests in town and had it playing on my iPod. Our pastor was speaking about the spiritual discipline of solitude, which I thought was perfect for my solitary run. That lasted for about four miles, and when the sermon was over, I switched to music shuffle. I started to get tired near the halfway point and stopped to stretch and breathe before turning around for the second six miles. For the next four miles, I thought about God in every single step I took. Exhausted, sluggish, and ready to stop, I prayed that He would give me the strength to put one foot in front of the other and keep going. I reflected on Jesus' own journey on Good Friday over 2000 years ago, the pain he endured, the path he walked carrying his cross. I thought about how He could have stopped it at any point, but out of His incredible, merciful, abounding love for us, He kept going. Normally, I run just for myself, but on Friday I ran for Jesus. I know that my pain was nothing compared to His, but I was thankful for an experience that helped me feel so close to Him. I know that I couldn't have finished in my own strength, and I realized that I should really spend more of my life depending on God for every step instead of trying to control everything myself.

At mile 10, I passed a couple from our Bible study running the other direction. We shared surprised smiles and waved to each other, continuing on our respective paths. It was just the encouragement I needed to go the last two miles. A simple smile, a friendly face, a reminder that God has given us a family of believers for support and encouragement during the tough times in life. I admit, I still spent a little bit of time walking there at the end, and my average pace was about 30 seconds per mile slower than last week's long run (10'15"/mi), but I finished. And, even more importantly, I stayed faithful to my commitment to God, and He was faithful to pull me through.