Day 350

A key component of  The Red Shoe Project  is fasting.  Today is Day 350.  As I slipped on my RED flats and headed out the door with my daughter, I was hit head-on with the realization that my fasting has been about so much more than food!

A good friend of mine, Kelly Parr, is an expert when it comes to fasting and healthy eating.  She has studied and practiced these disciplines for years.  She understands all the details regarding the proper way to fast.  For example, she would tell you that there is a weaning on and a weaning off process before and after the fast itself.  Not to mention she could tell you exactly how to do that correctly.

Today my daughter asked me to go with her to the local shopping mall.  She had a couple errands she needed to do and preferred not to go alone.  At first I said no, but then, after thinking about it, it seemed like such a small request.  She rarely asks me to help her out with things like that and besides it would get me out of the house for a while.

Off we went in the car.  Oh my gosh... I had no idea what I was getting into.  A week before Christmas -- Jammed parking lots -- Shopping at the mall --  What was I thinking?  The good news is that the stores were actually pretty empty.  I was surprised.  But even still, I think I've been at the mall once this entire year.  Shopping is one of the things I've been fasting.

That might sound silly to you, but shopping takes time, focus and money.  We all know that it's not that difficult to spend an entire afternoon at the mall, trying on all the latest fashions and spending all sorts of  money.  Yeah... that hasn't been on my agenda this year.  The one time I did go to the mall was to help a friend find a couple pairs of pants she needed.  We were in and out within an hour.  To be honest, I haven't really had the money to shop and my time and energy has been on getting to know the Lord better through His Word and prayer.

Today's onslaught of commercialism, holiday advertising and special pricing was a bit of an avalanche!  Oh my gosh!  Suddenly I felt quite overwhelmed with Christmas.  It was like a sugar-rush!  With each store, I could sense the attack on my spirit by the enemy's holiday propaganda.  What happened to my peace?  Suddenly I felt naked, as if someone had stripped me of the contentment of Christmas.

Okay, so perhaps I am exaggerating slightly.  I'm sure it just seemed a bit much to me personally, considering my focus on this Red Shoe Project of mine.  But I realized something:

 As I've been looking for Christ 

each day for 350 days now, 

I've been living Christmas all year long.  

In contrast to that, the mall seemed 

empty of the Peace,  Joy and Cheer 

that Christ brings me each day!

There is an upside however.  As we headed home, my daughter said she had a surprise for me.  She turned on the radio station that was playing Christmas music and drove me around the neighborhood to look at the Christmas lights.  "Ahhhhh... look at that one!"  "Oooooooo, I like those lights!"  "How pretty is that -- Look there!"  What fun we had together!  I was refilled with joy by the time we pulled into our driveway!

Now I'm exhausted, in RED shoes, and hunkering down for the night!
Gail