I was very enthusiastic about my most recent string of blog posts, but then December turned into January and Stuff Got Real.
Really busy, that is.
See, we've been planning to sell our Pittsburgh house in Spring 2020 for about a year now, ever since Match Day when we learned where our next decade in the medical world would be.
You'd think that a year is PLENTY of time to finish updating our house (spoiler alert: this house was a solid Fixer-Upper when we got it).
But now the plot thickens... because we have three kids.
Kids who need to be fed, bathed, changed, fed again, changed again, and, you know, taught to read and ride bicycles and stuff like that.
This means that when January 2020 rolled around, there was PLENTY left to do.
Basically, I've been impersonating Cinderella every day while the kids alternate playing around me and watching Frozen 2 on a loop.
That's why there haven't been any blog posts for a while.
I got on here at midnight (the only time when I can write) because I want to talk to you for a minute about the COVID-19 epidemic and the subsequent shutdowns.
It's scary, isn't it?
It's frightening, looking at the future, looking at your empty hands, and wondering how this will all end.
Today was a world-wide fast, requested by our prophet President Russell Nelson.
Fasting happens when a person prayerfully goes without eating or drinking (when medically appropriate) for as long as they can or up to 24 hours. The money that would have been used to buy food for those meals is then donated to the poor.
To be totally honest, I disliked fasting until I went to college. One day on campus, I was reading in the book of Isaiah and I stumbled across an incredible set of verses in chapter 58:
3 Wherefore have we fasted, say they, and thou seest not? wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and thou takest no knowledge?...
(Jenna annotation: in other words, are we fasting for no reason? Lord, do you even see this?!)
5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? a day for a man to afflict his soul? is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and an acceptable day to the Lord?
(God's answer, interpreted by Jenna: "Is suffering what makes a fast into a fast? Is that what you're getting here, people? No!! Fasting is meant to take away burdens, free the suffering, feed the hungry, and bring you close to me!")
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?
(Jenna annotation: Break every yoke? In other words, fasting carries power from God to free us from anything that binds us down)
7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?
8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am...
(Jenna annotation: This is one of the most beautiful passages in all of scripture. Can you imagine anything more important or more incredible than calling out to God in your time of need and having Him say, "Here I Am."?)
10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon day:
11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy bones: and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
I read this as a 20-year-old and my figurative jaw dropped.
You mean, God cares about fasting?
You mean, THIS MATTERS???
I couldn't believe what I was reading-- this could have been written for me!
Ever since then, I've changed my focus. Fasting matters to God, and so it now matters to me. In fact, being hungry helps me recognize my constant need for spiritual nourishment.
The body dies in a matter of days without food and water. How long do we expect our spirits to live if they are also starving?
Fasting shows God that we love Him enough to follow Him, even when it's hard, and that we trust that His promised blessings will come.
With that, I want to share what I learned from my fast today.
God is in control, now and forever. The situation of our countries and cities is anxious, things are up in the air right now, but this is in God's hands. He is able to free us from the COVID-19 epidemic, and He will do so in His time.
I also feel a good deal of peace, even while we are trying to sell our home in a recession. God is aware of my little family and He knows our needs. He will send help in times of need. I know that, and I trust Him.
And, He loves us. He loves me.
That is what God impressed on me during my fast today.
If you are also in need of peace and if you want to feel God's love for you, I encourage you to turn your life and heart to Him. Try Him at His word. Read His holy books, especially The Book of Mormon, and keep His commandments.
Then watch and see what He can do in your life. Just see how much He loves you, how much He cares. It will change your entire life, just as it changed mine.
God bless you all, my friends.
-Jenna
