Ash Wednesday
I wondered how hard it was going to be to observe a full Ash Wednesday fast. The medication for my Lyme disease has upset the balance of my blood sugar, making it difficult to go more than a an hour or two without needing to eat. It was going to be an extra challenge, beyond just going without food for the day. 
I started the day at 4 am like I usually do. I had a small meal of bread and cheese with my medication, and resolved to make it to 5 pm for dinner.
When my body wanted to eat again at 7, I had a small glass of vegetable juice. I had another one an hour later. That carried me to 11 am, when I thought about lunch. Using an old trick from giving up smoking, before the desire to eat started to take over I thought of something else.
When I felt a tinge of hunger, or my mind told me how good some food would taste, I focused on the purpose of my fast today – to live free of all the little hungers, urges, and wants that consciously and unconsciously populate my days.
Around 1 pm I spent an hour at the gym on the treadmill and cardio machines, then doing weights and situps. My body feels good with a good sweat, and when you work out you don’t want to eat. I needed salt, so I had another vegetable juice.
The rest of the afternoon I spent working on a marketing campaign and answering email. After all, Ash Wednesday is a work day for me, not a time apart on retreat.
I checked the clock at 3:30 – an hour and a half to go. My resolution wavered a second, but I resolved to go the distance.
My wife called me from Tampa a few minutes before 5 pm. When we hung up, she left for a reception and business dinner. I put the phone down and walked into the kitchen to cook dinner. The day’s fast had ended.
I felt – lighter, calmer, gentler, less hungry. I usually wolf down my food; tonight I ate slowly and savored every mouthful. I paused for a moment for grace.
God must have helped me get through 12 hours without any food; when the day before I had a hard time managing 30 minutes without a handful of cheddar fish or a container of apple sauce.
