30 Hour Famine

So I made it 30 hours without much of a problem. Surprising considering that in the past month or so I've been eating unhealthy amounts of food. One problem was that I don't think I drank enough water during the fast.

It was really awesome to hang out with the teenagers. They made me feel young again and I was able to goof off and it was all good. There wasn't a huge turnout of people considering how many junior high/senior high students go to our church, but I think the kids still had fun. I was extremely encouraged by the amount of maturity and leadership that existed within the group. God has really raised up many young people with hearts for God and that's admirable in a generation that seems to be drawing farther away from Him.

We watched a couple videos showing the food shortages, AIDS epidemic and lack of clean water in many parts of Africa. I think the stats work out to five people dying from starvation (maybe kids?) every minute and over 1 billion people do not have access to clean water. I don't stop to consider this reality very often. The average shower uses over 100 L of water. There really isn't any reason for there to be such a huge disparity between the rich and poor. It reminded me how we need to give generously to those in need.

In many ways, I felt ashamed that after only 30 hours of fasting, I would be able to eat again. Even though we felt a small pang of what millions of people feel everyday, we had the option of ending the fast whenever we wanted to. For those dying of starvation, fasting is a tragic reality. For us, it was a choice. But our youth pastor reminded us that God blessed us to be living under these circumstances and instead of feeling guilty, we should thank God, not take our blessings for granted and do what we can to help others. I guess the key is to follow Paul's example by being content in all circumstances.