DOPE FASTING

Easter has always been my favorite holiday. As a child, my mom and I would dye eggs, eat chocolate bunnies and I would always wake up to elaborate Easter baskets. Once I became an adult, Easter took on a deeper meaning as I began to understand the meaning of celebrating Resurrection day.

Last year for Lent, I gave up dating, talking to men on the phone and even flirting in the hopes of removing all distractions from the opposite sex to focus my love and attention solely on God. I was not fasting for anything in particular. I only wanted a deeper connection with God BUT on Easter Sunday last year when I broke my fast, I met my husband online (won’t HE DO IT)!!!!! Then tragedy rocked my world the very next day when I received word that my mother died.

As Lent approached this year, I wondered how I would react. It coincided with the one year anniversary of my mom’s death. I explained to Ed how sacred my sacrificial time has always been and he decided to join me on the fast.  We decided to give up social media. This year we really need to hear from God and God alone! Free from the constant pinging of notifications, we could really commune with God.

Here are 5 things we learned while fasting from social media:

1. Uninterrupted personal connection is a MUST! Putting phones in another room while we watch a movie or TV made us more present. Letting the phone ring or ping while we were spending quality time became the norm.
2. We didn’t miss it anything!!! Literally, nothing. Social is the same as it was when we left.
3. We have less friends than we thought. Social media can make us feel popular but when we unplugged, we saw that we only truly connect with a handful of people offline.
4. We don’t know anyone’s birthdays without Facebook. Those birthday reminders are clutch! Without them, I had to resort to setting reminders in my phone to be sure I didn’t miss some bdays of loved ones.
5. It’s easier to give God time when you designate a time and space. I prefer the bed at 7AM for prayer, bible study and affirmations. Ed heads to our balcony for his quiet time. We both found that setting a time to be in the presence of God was extremely helpful. Ultimately, we make time for what’s important.
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This lenten season is my first as a married woman. It was so beautiful to experience sacrificing with my husband as we both sought a closer relationship with God. This holy time of focusing on only God and each other was invigorating. I saw my husband growing as the spiritual leader of our household, engaging in meditation and solo prayer time. By far the sexiest thing he could do for us is seek God for himself. Now, Lent is over and we are both back on social media. But this time around we have clear boundaries for how much time we will spend looking at a screen instead of each other or God.
Stay Dope!

-MBC