Today is the last day of July. I have hereby fasted intermittently for the entire month! I laid out my plan in my fasting planner for the month of August. I'm set!
I'm not sure why. Perhaps because I teach piano afternoons/eves. I would prefer not to eat after work, right before bed. Cutting off my eating right before I teach allows me to just focus on my work. I was worried that I would be so distracted by hunger pangs, that my work would suffer. But if I time it right and eat a substantial meal about 2:00, I don't start getting famished until about 5:00 p.m. I allow myself tea, coffee and water during my fasts which hold me over. By the time I feel like I will die of hunger, it is nearly time for bed.
I have lost 10 pounds. I have gained more confidence, energy, discipline and time! Less time eating equals more time to do life!
I am not going to say it is easy. It's not. But it is not beyond my ability. I am still sticking to 20:4 most weekdays, and 18:6 on the weekends.
The days I have breakfast with my mother, I just have a larger eating window. It feels right, somehow to end eating every day at 2:30 p.m.
I'm not sure why. Perhaps because I teach piano afternoons/eves. I would prefer not to eat after work, right before bed. Cutting off my eating right before I teach allows me to just focus on my work. I was worried that I would be so distracted by hunger pangs, that my work would suffer. But if I time it right and eat a substantial meal about 2:00, I don't start getting famished until about 5:00 p.m. I allow myself tea, coffee and water during my fasts which hold me over. By the time I feel like I will die of hunger, it is nearly time for bed.
I am no longer afraid of feeling hungry. It is still rather inconvenient. And I do still have temptations and cravings. But I tell myself I can eat the next day.
In the morning, I am always amazed that I do not feel ravenous. I don't really feel the desire to eat until usually about 10:00 a.m. I usually start prepping for my first meal about 9:30, when I feed my granddaughter breakfast. My first meal is at 10:30 a.m.
Today I had homemade falafel, tzaziki sauce (also homemade), labneh cheese (also homemade! It is a Lebanese yogurt cheese), rice crackers, green beans and Kim Chi.
I started getting hungry again around 1:00. So I stopped at my favorite little Mexican Restaurant here in the Couve, "Don Taco". I had a chicken tamale with their free condiment bar: a lettuce, tomato and cucumber salad, pickled carrots, chopped radish with lime juice, salsa, sour cream and guacamole.
I have an unsweetened iced tea in my pack for the bus ride to the church where I will be practicing piano and organ for this Sunday's service. It will be my first Sunday at my new church job!
The pipe organ will take some getting used to. It is ancient. It has only one manual keyboard and a pedal keyboard. The stops are pulled, rather than pushed, which is new to me. I do not consider myself an organist, having never formally studied the instrument. But I should probably start calling myself an organist, since my last several church jobs entailed me playing this beast!
Oh, I should not call the organ a beast. I usually develop quite a fondness for the instrument, once I get used to it's unique characteristics. We just need to build a relationship. I'm sure I will love him in time!
I spoke yesterday about my deepening spiritual life, which I partially attribute to fasting. Fasting removes the distraction of food, which has always been an addictive, pleasurable comfort to me. Without it, I find I am drawing closer to God.
And I am more present in my interactions with others. I had a lovely experience teaching yesterday. I teach middle school brothers. They are smart, charming boys. They are both very musical, but they have very busy lives and don't always give piano their priority. But during their lessons, they are engaged and we all learn a lot!
Yesterday, I was teaching the younger brother. Suddenly we heard loud voices. The older brother was arguing with his father. I tried not to eavesdrop and just focus on our lesson. It was hard with older brother ranting and raving and stomping about. But soon they resolved their issue.
I was worried that older brother would not be in the right frame of mind for his lesson. But honestly, I think having a lesson just then was therapeutic! He admitted they had been camping the week before and he had not practiced much. So we played a duet and some improvisation games. Then we worked a bit on "Fur Elise" by Beethoven. He is planning on performing it for the next recital.
We had a good lesson. He didn't seem rattled at all by his earlier argument with his dad. He told me goodbye, and wished me a good week.
I grabbed my shoes and walked outside. I sat down on the front porch to put on my shoes and gather my things. And what did I hear? Fur Elise! My student had immediately gone back to the piano to practice more!
I must say, in all my years of teaching, this does not usually happen. I am accustomed to hearing students practice before their lesson. I will walk to the door to knock and hear familiar strains of the pieces. I suspect sometimes they are "cramming" in some extra practice time. But I never scold. Practice is practice!
But to hear a student, especially one that was not in a good mood earlier, to continue to play after our lesson really warmed my heart!
As I walked down their steps to the sidewalk, my phone rang. It was my son telling me they were approved for an apartment. I told him I was so happy. I was! And I had to stop right there and thank God. For students who heal with music. For students who practice even after their lessons.
And for a God who hears prayer and answers it! My son, his girlfriend and mom were getting frantic about finding housing. Every large apartment management company turned them down. They were staying in a hotel. They had one more day there. I put up an ad on Craigslist about their plight. And earlier I got the most amazing email from a man. He sounded so kind and sincere. He said he wasn't worried about prior credit, and that he liked to give people a chance. I phoned my son. They called him and immediately set up a meeting. They said he was very kind and the apartment is perfect! They are moving in tomorrow.
This was a God thing. Not only did I post that ad, but yesterday, I sent a prayer request to all my praying friends, all my prayer groups and several cloistered nuns around the world.
God was listening. And He answered. Big time!
Why do I ever doubt?
On that note, I am going to head out and practice.
Happy Wednesday!
I don't have a hooping video today. I woke up too late. But I will have one tomorrow. Today I go to the gym. Stay tuned!
Love,
Zita
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