Reps for Jesus - My thoughts on prayer, fasting, and alms giving this Lent

The season of Lent calls us to seek God in a variety of ways. The three pillars that are always spread to us as Catholics is prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Three pretty simple pillars to think about. 40 days and that's all I have to do?! Score. But...obviously...that's not the point. We are called on a journey that challenges us spiritually and physically. We render control of our time, decisions, food, and comfort...those sacrifices are things that ultimately help us lean on Christ, to focus on Him and fill in those habits with Him. What I've had some trouble working through as an athlete is how to fast. Growing up, that's all I ever did and easiest (in theory) to commit to. Give up sweets, give up pop, give up candy, give up fast food...but now my faith has matured and my life has changed quite a bit! How do I nourish my relationship with God with fasting and abstaining from meat or food when I am so dependent on food as fuel as an athlete? I've just started my "in-season," at this point, food is a BIG necessary role for my recovery and training....so I needed to carefully (and prayerfully) consider that in how I wanted to celebrate Lent this year.

Of course, EVERYONE is different, I just want to share some suggestions and a little of my journey and perspective to maybe help you with yours!

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First off, if you are a high performance athlete, I would absolutely make sure you are working with a nutrition coach, or have spoken to your medical provider before doing any type of fasting.

"Fasting," in the context that we are speaking of is fasting food altogether, abstaining from meat, or abstaining from other food items. The first step to this is understanding what realm of athlete you fall into. For example, for a CrossFit athlete, or an athlete training for a sports event, cutting calories of any sort may NOT be a great idea. What CAN be helpful is abstaining from certain foods.

For instance, it's a common practice that Fridays during Lent, Catholics abstain from meat, but can eat fish. There ya go!! You're not losing full protein sources, and you're have a chance to incorporate more omega-3 fat sources! WIN!!

Another suggestion is to abstain from things that help you attain your goals. So I think this one is a little obvious, but...abstain from things that you struggle with or are easily tempted by like cookies, pop with dinner, that ONE extra Girl Scout Cookie that turns into FIVE. Sometimes it's not that obvious. Maybe you're my client or you're working with a coach and compliance really isn't an issue, great!! I bet there's something in your current diet that is an indulgence or a crutch....like coffee! (That's what I have chosen to fast from...which I'm CONFIDENT will bring me closer to Jesus with constant prayers for patience). If it's not coffee for you, then maybe there's something else that doesn't fully support the healthy lifestyle you're on track to achieve. Another option is to try intermittent fasting. THIS IS NOT FOR EVERYBODY, it is a method of fasting and it has shown a lot of success for many athletes. Because that is a sensitive suggestion and highly individual, I will not go further into depth about it; open up a conversation about it with your coach!

If there's nothing that pops out right away...pray on it, maybe something will be revealed to you. Or you could try fasting in another method.

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Fasting from other things like TV, phones, social media, gossiping, getting your nails done, spending extra money on amazon are also applicable sacrifices...there's other material things that are certainly NOT worth all the time and attention we give them. This method is really helpful because it allows you to be more aware of where your focus goes to..and when you take away the fillers and replace it with quiet time, intentional prayer time, or even volunteering time...it's no doubt that it will bring you closer to God. The main point of sacrificing those indulgences is to create a void....then fill that void with silence to let God talk and us listen. Sacrificing material items may also forge the opportunity to participate in more prayer and alms giving as well.

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"Alms giving," means donating time or money. By sacrificing your time on Amazon or shopping sites, you may find it easier to budget some money in order to donate it to a charitable cause! If that's not doable, maybe sacrificing time by going to volunteer or offer your services to tutor, help out at the library or other organization might be an option!

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Finally, there's prayer. The easiest thing for me to say I'm going to do....and then not do. My sacrifice this Lent is going to be waking up a little earlier, and reading through the Bible or Rediscover Jesus by Matthew Kelly. I received this book as a gift a couple of years ago and read through it over Christmas time....but never as part of Lent. I think doing this will be beneficial for my prayer life. It helps me focus my heart of the Word and really reflect how Jesus is working through my life. I know for me, my time and energy goes heavily into my health and fitness...I mean, that's my job, but it's really hard not to idolize food or training. One practice I started last summer when I was away from my family and was gifted The Wellness Revelation by Alisa Keeton was praying before workouts. It was realllllly hard to remember to do that, but I started to walk into training with intention, whether or not I remembered to seriously say a prayer before I started or not, I always set my heart on the fact that I was beyond grateful to move my body and eat whole foods. I plan to emulate that practice in a variety of ways this Lent and I encourage you to actually do the same! If you follow any sort of fitness plan or nutrition plan....take time before you start every workout to set intention....and try not to wait until the middle or end of the workout to say, "Oh my God, Jesus help me." <<<LOL, BEEN THERE! Setting that intention really digs into the root of gratitude. Getting through the workout and taking care of your body is something we are called to do as people, and by thanking God for that opportunity you're setting your heart to Him, not idolizing the routine or even yourself during that journey.

Likewise, before we eat every meal, take time to thank God for that meal. Take away suggestions from above can be anything from finding a book to follow over Lent, waking up early and sit in silence time (or light a candle and pray). Or find a Bible study group, read the book along with a friend, or find a good Bible Plan on YouVersion to follow!! There are a lot of opportunities for prayer and digging into the Word, you just have to commit to one and have a plan

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In CrossFit, we have that very VERY distinct sound of the clock countdown before we start a workout. It's the time where my gut always sinks, my body tells me that it's ready.....let's go. Those three beeps and that feeling are going to make me so grateful for just standing there and being able to compete or move. Instead of being too anxious before to pray, I'll set intention. And even when I forget to do that...I'll have that signal to ease my mind and be thankful, say a prayer, then go. 3, 2, 1, GO is my fail safe.

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Overall, I just wanted to share a few things that were on my mind about this upcoming season. It was a little hard for me to navigate through choosing and had the opportunity to talk about it in my women's church group! Talking through it helped, so go share your idea with someone!! Have them hold you accountable and do the same for them!! As for me, you know mine...no coffee, wake up and read Rediscover Jesus, and pray/set intention before every workout. Feel free to reach out to me and see how I'm doing!!! I can use that nudge and reminder :)

-B