I've never been a fan of using Lent as a diet, so I immediately ruled out the idea of fasting from some sort of food. But what could I fast from that might bring me closer to God?
My phone.
I am addicted to my phone. Especially email. And facebook too. And twitter and pinterest. And checking the weather. And texting my friends. So yeah, pretty much all of it.
Given that I still want to be employed at the end of the week, I knew that fasting from my phone entirely was not an option. So I kept it simple: I will not check my phone while walking places.
No kidding, this just might be the hardest challenge ever. The amount of stress it is causing me is unreal. Yet, when I make it at to the end of a 10 minute walk to my next meeting without checking my phone, there is a sense of accomplishment (obviously, not the point of the challenge, but still, it's there). In my head, I had romantic visions of enjoying the beauty of campus and feeling close to God that way. Unfortunately, single-digit weather and high winds are not conducive to me feeling the presence of God all around me. But I do feel more centered and more connected with others. And that's a really important part of Lent.
