A Trial Run

Lent is fast approaching (pun intended) and I thought it might be a good idea to have a couple of days where I trial run what a daily fast might be like.  With Ash Wednesday being two weeks from today I thought that now would be a good time to try it out.  I had a light breakfast about 6:00 am and am planning not to eat again until around 6:00 (sunset is at 6:07).  Actually, I will probably eat a little earlier than that tonight since we are going over to friends for dinner tonight.

While I have not published much lately about my Lenten Ramadan it does not mean that I have not been thinking about it a lot.  Here are a few things I have been considering that are independent of the "rules" which I will establish in a different post very soon:

• I very much enjoy lunch with my colleagues, but that is something I am going to forego during Lent and instead, use that time for prayer.  We have a beautiful chapel at our school and this will be ready made time for prayer, especially at a time of day when I will be very hungry.
• Listening to NPR this morning on the way in, many of the news items have to do with Libya.  What an opportunity this is to pray for our Muslim brothers and sisters who struggle for freedom and justice in our world.  My prayer today is for the people of Libya, Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt and throughout the Middle East
• A friend or two (who happen to share my faith) think I am crazy for doing this.  I am not sure why I am doing this.  Is it just to see if I can?  Is it to prove something to myself?  Is it a weight loss plan?  Will it nurture my spirituality and help me gain an understanding of others?  Will it make my celebration of Easter a more joyous one than ever?
• There is a big of a bump that I foresee in the very first week.  We are going skiing the Thursday through Sunday of the first week of Lent.  My resolve will be put to the test right off the bat, though I wonder how smart this will be for me to fast from food and water while skiing all day.  Hmmm.   We shall see.