Participating in a famine event has always been my hobby. Organizing a famine event has always been my dream. This year, I was going to make my dream into reality, and I was not letting COVID-19 stop me.
First thing first: why do I love those famine events so much?
One, it gives daily life a change.
Second after second, minute after minute, hour after hour, day after day, weeks after weeks, months after months, season after season, year after year, decade after decade. It’s easy to get lost in a vortex of confusion when we spend our days with repeated routines and meaningless work.
When I participate in or organize famine events, I can momentarily forget about all that. It helps me to see the bigger picture and my further future, reminding me that my life isn’t just overwhelmingly endless tasks to complete. My efforts right now are all moving me towards my ultimate goal—to influence and care for people. And famine events help me remember that, even when overwhelming loads of work are piling before me.
While a hungry day may not be much of a difference, experiencing an ordinary day starving is something that I found interesting. It’s as if you are seeing things you see every single day—from a different perspective.
Two, I find surprisingly more free time.
Have you ever actually thought about how much time you take to consume three meals a day? Perhaps you rush through your food to get on with the clients you have at hand. Or perhaps your breakfast is accompanied by a newspaper, lunch by your phone, and dinner with television.
You see, if you spend one hour per meal, you can save three hours a day! If you are a diligent worker, you may find that you can finish your tasks without hurriedly eating. If you are an easily-distracted person, you have one less thing to worry about!
How do I use my additional time, then?
Here comes a fun fact: did you know that the origin of 30 Hour Famine is Fasting and Prayer?
Bonus: “Breakfast” is a compound word that consists of “break” and “fast”, which means breaking the fasting.
Back on our track, Fasting and Prayer gives people time to keep their minds in peace in order to come in contact with the Holy Spirit. The spiritual experience is a portal to connect ourselves to God.
Similarly, famine challenges give us time to reflect on ourselves and think about the blessings in our life. When you really silently recount what you have, you will find yourself walking through your life’s journey again with gratitude. Sometimes we feel like life is overwhelming, the pressure on our shoulders crushing us. Maybe at that moment, you couldn’t comprehend every bad thing. Maybe you simply didn’t understand why you have to be the one to experience all that. Maybe you still cannot let the past go.
While you are starving, look at where you’ve been, look at where you are, then look at where you’re bound for.
I don’t know about you, but when I looked back, I realized it was what I’ve been through that brought me here today. I could never stop marveling at God’s plan for my life.
Three, I know and am glad that I have the ability to make contributions.
According to the World Food Programme, the number of famished people in the world exceeded 820 million in 2018, accounting for 11% of the total global population.
Nearly 200 million children under the age of 5 worldwide are stunted or too thin due to malnutrition.
In the poorest families and remote communities, only one in five children get the nutritious diet they need to grow.
Every 4 seconds, a child dies of hunger.
They didn’t have a choice, but we do.
We can always decide to ignore or to understand, to neglect or to care, to overlook or to regard, to walk away or to take action, to eat for granted or to be hungry for love.
I chose the latter, again and again.
What about you?
What is YOUR decision?
PS. Thanks for reading this post! Rose would appreciate it if you would follow her Famine Event account on Instagram for a good cause. We can all become that change.
PPS. For more information on 30 Hour Famine or supporting hungry children, visit World Vision International or the World Vision website of your national branch.