Feast Days

I've never been guided through Lent before (see earlier article re: Baptist girl).  Turns out there are 46 days between Fat Tuesday and Easter!  If you know that my water-only beverage program is called 40 Days of Water, then you might be headscratching.  The discrepancy is worked out by having one day a week--usually Sundays--as feast days (opposite of fast days).

I love this.

And not just for the obvious reason of enjoying a mug of coffee this morning.  Like all the best things about fasting and Lent, feast days are full of meaning.

Having a feast day once a week reminds me that fasting is not about me.  I cannot get stuck in an oh-woe-is-me mentality when every 7th day I can drink whatever I want.  More than that, it reminds me that my God is a good God.  He does not delight in depriving me of good things.  He delights in my sacrifice, and He delights in my bounty.  He demands my all, and He gives me life.

My hope is that during feast days I mentally move beyond "CAFFEINE!!!" and thank God for the abundance of delicious beverages at my fingertips.  Enjoying hot chocolate and soda will remind me that many people in the world do not even have clean water to drink, let alone my $4 Starbucks drink.

My feast days remind me that God is good and abundant.  They keep me from becoming too prideful.  And they spur me on to the next week of fasting.