I’m keeping a journal and jotting down thoughts from time to time about this 5/7 Fast. I thought I would share with you some of the thoughts that have bounced around in my head thus far:
- I did a load of laundry yesterday with clothes that I wore over the weekend. Washing and putting clothes away that I couldn’t wear was tough. It reminded me that I was limited in my choices.
- I wasn’t planning on washing my sweatshirt yesterday, but I got a smudge of door jam grease on it. Normally I would just throw another jacket on, but I had to go to dinner with a mark on my sweatshirt. Jeremy told me that calling a smudge on my sweatshirt a problem sounded really prissy. Guess what… I’m prissy. I admit it.
- I decided to wash my socks with my shirt and jeans last night so I had no socks for the rest of the evening. My feet did get cold. I longed for my socks, but decided that I would prefer fresh socks in the morning. I wonder if I will break down toward the end of the week and just accept that I’ll be wearing recently washed socks, not always fresh.
- This morning I started to feel uncomfortable because a lot of the staff have chosen two different shirts to wear to work and I have only chosen one. It’s amazing how with only 7 items of clothing, I’m still comparing myself to others and judging myself on how they look verses how I look. REALLY??? I am shallow.
- This morning I was hit by the fact that I like my stuff. I get security from my stuff. The more clothing options I have the more secure I feel in my appearance. Being stripped of my options is showing me where I put my trust. Just like the passage in Luke 12 that Pastor Kyle preached on Sunday, I don’t want to have closets (barns) full of clothes (crops) and lose sight of the true purpose in life. Before this challenge I would have told you I’m not materialistic. I’m realizing just how materialistic I am… scary!
I started to think through this whole excess thing in other areas of my life… towels, dishes, blankets. I felt totally justified in buying another set of dishes 2 weeks ago, because Jeremy and I would use up all our dishes before the dishwasher was full enough to run it. Instead of washing small loads in the dishwasher or hand washing my dishes, I bought more dishes (for convenience). I’m sure people in other parts of the world would be blown away by having roughly 12 place settings of dishes (slightly less when you consider my hubby and I have broken a few pieces). On top of that, I’m sure it would be above and beyond their wildest dreams to have them washed in a dishwasher. It is crazy how fasting clothing is filtering into other areas of my life. This isn’t just about clothes. So much to think about… Yikes!
Amy Scott's Thoughts 