Every January, my family does a spiritual fast together. We go without something in order to more clearly hear from the Lord and to be more fully reliant on him. In the past, we have fasted certain foods and drinks, technology and social media.

This year, we decided to go one month without buying anything other than our groceries so we could eat.
No trips to fun places.
No going out to eat.
No buying things for the house or the kids.

No to basically all the fun things.

In full disclosure, it was harder than I thought it would be! I can’t believe how many times I went to hit “purchase” on Amazon or my Walmart app, and then realized my mistake just in time.

It was so much more work to plan and pack meals to bring with us instead of hitting the drive through. I realized how many times we end up eating out. Yikes! Also… the food prep was so much more work on the fast, but worth it. We ate healthier meals as a family, and I realized how much better we all felt.

I missed getting my favorite coffee at Scooters and the amazing french fries from my favorite local restaurant, Leader. It’s slightly embarrassing just how much I was relying on treats to help me stay joyful in this season of life. Not that treats are bad, but it really affected my mood to not be able to go to any of my favorite places. Not a fun realization.

It took me a full two weeks to adjust to not spending and to start to find different ways to relax and experience joy.

Two weeks!

In that time, my kids struggled too! We all missed our regular spending habits. To help us get by, we adopted this mantra and said it to each other daily:
“If God is all you have, God is all you need.”

We said that phrase until we started to really believe it was true. What a powerful experience in being satisfied with less and not using material possessions as a pathway toward happiness. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6‬:‭19‬-‭24‬ ‭says:

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be. “Your eye is like a lamp that provides light for your body. When your eye is healthy, your whole body is filled with light. But when your eye is unhealthy, your whole body is filled with darkness. And if the light you think you have is actually darkness, how deep that darkness is! “No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.”

When we started the fast, I didn’t even realize that I was pursuing treasures on earth as much as I was. Once it became clear to me that earthly treasures were too important, I got the opportunity to ask God to help me let go of my habits and form new ones when it comes to money and buying things.

I’m a work in progress!

But I can testify to the fact that God blessed us this past month with quality family time, good teachable moments with our kids, and a new appreciation for what we have instead of desiring what we don’t have.

God really is enough.

He is all we need!

Heavenly Father,
I need you more than I need anything on earth. Help me to turn to you for every need, and not to the things of this world. Let the desire of my heart be for you and not for earthly treasure.
Amen