My vision is terrible, but if you think I’m exaggerating, let me explain. When I put on make-up in the mornings, I use a hand-held magnifying mirror, and I have to hold the mirror so close to my face that sometimes it fogs up when I exhale through my nose. It happened again this morning, and while I was waiting a few seconds for it to un-fog, I remembered something that I did back in high school. I fasted from sight.

My then-boyfriend’s parents were having major marriage trouble, so he and I committed to praying about it. I felt compelled to fast, but I didn’t want to be conspicuous. It’s pretty difficult to skip lunch in high school and avoid rumors about having an eating disorder, so I started brainstorming alternatives. I wore contacts at the time, so I decided to forgo my lenses and carry my glasses for back-up. There’s nothing in the Bible that I can find about fasting from corrective lenses (lol), but I figured God would honor the spirit of my intent.

I went through the entire school day without my contacts – the exception being class changes, because I was afraid I would fall down a flight of stairs. I couldn’t see the blackboard, overhead projector … heck, I could hardly see the back of the kid’s head in front of me! I had to hunch over in order to write, and I had to listen extra-carefully, since I couldn’t see what the teachers were doing.

It was a challenging day, but by the end of it, I felt so triumphant! To my knowledge, I pulled it off – no one knew what I had done, and I felt like I honored the concept of a secret prayer fast. Eventually, my boyfriend’s parents did reconcile, so I like to think that God honored my prayer time that day.

Funny, the things that a little mascara will bring to mind!