I ate chicken.
gasp!
I told y'all at the beginning that I would FEED my body chicken or fish if I felt that I needed to.
I needed to.
I debated a little bit about my decision. "Was I fully relying on God? What would this do to my fast? What if I had a piece of bread instead?" Ultimately, my reason for eating chicken is twofold:
1~My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor 3:16-17; 1 Cor 6:19-20). My body is my responsibility. Just like I take my car in for an oil change, I have to fuel my body and make sure it is capable of functioning when God says "Go." I struggled with this decision because I've done the whole fast in the past...even when I've gotten weak and felt the "brain fog" coming on. I thought to myself, "Jesus fasted for forty days and nights...as in...NO FOOD. NO DRINK...in the DESERT!" Then, I came to my senses. Again, I'm not Jesus. I have five kids to mother. I have a husband. I have breakfasts, lunches, dinners to make. I can't do those things without energy and with a foggy brain. And, I don't think Jesus had five kids to chase around in the desert...not that He couldn't have done that, but I just don't think he did. I'm human. He is God. It boils down to that. So, I ate chicken.
2~Yoga has taught me a lot about my body. In yoga, having compassion on your body is a very good and important thing! Especially in the kind of yoga I practice~Ashtanga. Bobbing and weaving and tangling and untangling your body requires a very clear presence as to the subtleties and goings-on within your body. One false move, and there goes your knee! You have to know when to back off and when to push through. Compassion in the context of my fast means that I KNOW my body is needing meat protein. I know this through my experiences in the past. I've had to give up running during my fasts before. I know it is because my muscles need MEAT protein specifically because I GIVE IT protein from soy, beans and nuts, and that is simply not cutting it. If I do not show my body compassion, and I claim it's in the name of Jesus, how am I treating my body like the temple mentioned in #1? Compassion is knowing when to withdraw and when to push forward. I chose to step back, reset if possible, and continue on. Why don't I give up my Ashtanga practice? The reason is twofold: Firstly, because I am not fasting from yoga, but food. And, secondly, because I'd still be exhausted and foggy, which means I would still not be able to manage my family. I ate chicken.
Judge if you will. I know my God is the God of Grace, and because He lavishes it upon me daily, I'm SURE that He will also cover over my chicken eating.
And that leads me to the joke my 5-year-old, Darby, told me the other day: "Why did the chicken cross the road? ...because he's a moron." I do not know where she comes up with this stuff, but there ya have it. The REAL reason the chicken crossed the road. We've been wrong all along.
Grace and Peace~
Kelly
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