The Power of Fasting

Today my brother-in-law Sean is going in for a job interview after 11 months of searching and interviews and we have decided to fast as a family that he may get this job. By the way, Sean has always been very successful - he is smart, fun to be around and great with people. Unfortunately his field is in recruiting and when the job market is down, not so many people need recruiters, or managers or recruiters, or trainers of recruiters, etc.

Austin's Mom's call for a family fast sparked the strong feelings I have gained about fasting and I wanted to record them. I had a rough summer. We had fun, but having the three kids was hard. I'm not belittling any other mom's job or moaning that mine is so much harder than anyone else's, but I just don't seem to handle stress well. Once a long time ago my mom told me that she never thought I would have three kids because I'm fragile. I get overwhlemed, I cry, I scream, I throw tantrums right back at the kids, I throw things, I hide in my bedroom. I never thought that I would be a good mom, when growing up, I didn't look forward to it because I didn't think I could handle it and thought I would yell at them and not be the mom they needed.

Toward the end of the summer, I really felt like I was getting out of control. Not that I was going to beat them, but just screaming a lot and feeling like giving up. I decided that I needed to fast and to have Austin give me a blessing. I decided to make my fasts a weekly thing for a few weeks to gain the strength and patience and consistency that I needed to be a good mom and a good example to them.

I know that fasting works. I have seen miracles happen in my life and have felt much more in control and have realized that my screaming doesn't help anything, it just escalates the situation and teaches them to scream about their problems. I have found different resources to help me and the fact that Heavenly Father had school start up about the time I started fasting is no coincidence. :) I am grateful for our Savior and our Gospel and the teachings we have that show us we can keep trying and we can ask for help and receive it. I am thankful for fasting and the testimony I have gained of its power.