There is a very interesting thing I have found about fasting that I did not expect. Aromas. Scents. They are much more poignant than ever before in a marvelously good way. Surprisingly, smelling the oregano and basil and lively yeast as I walk by the pizza shop doesn't make my stomach grumble or my muscles weak. I appreciate each of the delicate scents and fully enjoy them.

My roommate made caramel-peanut butter covered apples tonight and the nutty fragrance that drifted into my room was delightful. The whole wheat pasta that sat cooked by the stove and the garlic and zucchini in the frying pan created a magnificent melody of perfumes that I enjoyed without hunger.

Incredible? I know! Unexplainable? Absolutely. It's God. It's the living God who challenges His children in order to mold them and transform them into something better. Something more beautiful. Someone more like Christ. I'll take that at any cost, any day.

As Paul said to the Philippians:
⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ