The Last Day

Last week I completed my 40-Day sugar fast. If you’re new here, hop over and read this post where I talk about my desire to give up sugar. And you can read a follow-up post about it here.

Frankly, I’m not sure how much to share as I am still processing what I’ve learned over the past 40 days. First, though, I will say that if I can give up sugar for 40 days, then anyone can. I fully believe I was addicted to processed sugar yet I was still able to (mostly) go without it for the entire time.

And while giving up sugar was good for my body and for my mind, it was even better for my spirit, for my relationship with Jesus. He revealed so many things to me, or maybe they were just much-needed reminders, and I’m grateful for His presence. I’m hoping that, in ridding myself of the habit of running to sugar, I’ve instead created a new habit of running to Jesus.

Here are some highlights from the past 40 days:

• God has shown me the walls He wants to bring down in my life. Walls I don’t really want to get into right now because they are specific to me. But I know we all put up walls as a defense mechanism in order to protect our hearts, our fear of failure, our embarrassments. What walls do you need to allow Jesus to tear down today?
• As an Enneagram 9, my personality leans toward “sloth” – which doesn’t necessarily mean laziness, although it definitely could mean that. But it means that when things get difficult, I give up. I try to numb out. And I discovered that I was numbing out with sugar. But once that was taken away, I began to numb out with my phone, scrolling over and over and over. It’s not a good look for me.
• I’m realizing and understanding that God made me the way I am with a purpose.  Sorry to bring up the Enneagram again, but as an Enneagram 9, I have the ability to see both sides in an argument and I want to be a peacemaker when there is conflict. I. Hate. Conflict. Well, more specifically, I hate aggression. At my worst and most unhealthy, this looks like people-pleasing, but at my best, these personality traits allow me to have empathy for others. I’ve always thought my “people-pleasing” was a bad thing (and don’t get me wrong, it can be), but when I’m in a healthy space, it’s actually a good thing.
• A question I began asking myself a couple weeks into this fast was: “Does Jesus flood every part of my life?” The obvious answer is, “No, He doesn’t.” I’m working through that now, talking to Him more throughout the day, trying to allow His light to shine in all the dark places I want to hide.
• One last thing I’ve been thinking about is this: How should our family mark God’s blessings? The Israelites (and the Jewish community today) participated in Passover, which marks a remembrance of sorts for how God brought them out of slavery. But do we, as Christians ever really mark the specific miracles of God in our lives? Sure, we celebrate Christ’s birth at Christmas and His resurrection at Easter, but I mean those little miracles He does all the time. I’m still working through how to implement this in our family. A weekly Sabbath meal? A commemorative monthly meal? A blessings jar? I‘d love to hear your thoughts, especially if this is something your family does on a regular-ish basis. 

So, now the question becomes: How do I continue running to Jesus instead of running to sugar or my phone or anything else that helps me numb out?

Father, help me to run to You for all my needs. Forgive me when I place other things in front of You. 

Now it’s your turn. How do you keep your focus on Jesus? How do you mark God’s blessings or create a Sabbath for your family? Leave a comment and let me know. I’d love to hear from you!