I am well into the second week of our church fast. I am adhering to my "Green till 3" goals despite being here in Houston, Texas tending to my brother, Damon, while he recovers from cancer surgery. He is doing very well, remarkably well and is now cancer free. It has been a long year, with his chemo and radiation treatments and it will be a slow recovery but we are all thankful for this outcome.
A cancer hospital provides a great space for reflection, especially if you are disciplining yourself with nothing but Green (raw) food most of the day. There are lots of opportunities for free doughnuts and coffee. I pass the Starbucks and Chick-Fillet on the way to the room.
However, these are not my biggest challenges. The biggest challenge is to keep a peaceful heart and mind when all around me there are balded heads from chemo and the recent surgery patients rolling their IV stands. The talk of a waiting rooms is all about sickness and recovery. I've learned more than I ever wanted to know about the symptoms of cancer, the treatments for cancer and the ravaging of cancer.
No, forgoing food is not the biggest challenge. It is only the practice session. The actual game involves how to be peaceful in the midst of fear and anxiety. How to love and to express love to a person who is in pain. How to remain kind, compassionate, gentle after hours of sitting and waiting...trying to manage your normal, back-home life from gmail. And finally, reminding myself that the God I serve lives in Damon; relating wiping up a puddle of body fluid to an act of worship.
This is why I fast, so that I can learn to control myself and my actions, so that I can learn to control my thoughts and feelings. I cannot allow myself to eat anything I want because I can't allow myself to think any way I want. It is not about the food. It is about the thinking.
I was reminded of this during a sermon last Sunday. I am staying with extended family members who attend Weaver Avenue Baptist Church. The youth pastor, (who looks like a sophomore in high school) gave an incredibly energetic and far-reaching sermon. His verse focused on the story of Zachias, who climbed the tree to see Jesus and in the telling of that story he included: Mohammed Ali's fight with Joe Frazier and Rope-A-Dope (with boxing imitations); a famous Basketball dunking competition won by a guy who was 5'8"; late night comedy star Arsenio Hall; and a Do-It-Yourself home repair project.
The insight that I received from the sermon was that anything and everything can be a reminder of God's presence.... if you are looking.
Tonight I will be accompanying my family to a Weight Watchers meeting...and I am looking for God to show up. More on that next time.
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