Adventures in “Nkↄm Kyere”

As a kid, I was a skinny, underweight girl who had to be coaxed, scolded and beaten to eat her food. I simply didn’t like to eat. Not until I went to the boarding house in secondary school. The food often consisted of two ladles of rice or less, to my dismay. There was no food to waste like I did back at home those days. I remember the first vacation, I came home and savored the homemade groundnut soup and like Oliver Twist, asked for more. It’s said that you sometimes don’t value some things until you’re deprived of it for sometime. It was then that I began to appreciate and value meals. And today I do enjoy my meals, although my friends still think I’m a bit picky about what I eat. Ahem... let’s just say, I’ve improved?

But I do want to discuss another perspective: abstaining from meals for spiritual purposes. Yep, I’m talking about the ‘glorious’ spiritual discipline known in English as ‘fasting’. Before I go any further: I make a disclaimer, I’m no expert in fasting, I’m just sharing a few thoughts on my experiences so far.

I like the way “fasting” is expressed in my mother tongue. We call it, “Nkↄm Kyere,” transliterated as “hunger engage.” Pronounced, "N-korm chI-rI." One engages hunger as a discipline for a higher purpose. I remember a friend used the expression, “putting my stomach down; sacrificing my stomach for prayer.” These expressions in no way suggest passivity; one has to take on this activity. See the image above? At the time of taking the picture, I was... uurm... heavily pregnant with mangoes. Hehehe! :) But there is a reason to periodically "put my tummy down".

When I started fasting, it wasn’t out of a personal conviction rather I fasted along with my Hall (Dormitory) fellowship group. It was a once in a month call to fast mid-week and meet at lunch time in the Hall Chapel to pray. Those were incredible times of student corporate prayer as God showed up in power and we, in exchange, were spiritually nourished.

I remember the terrible ways of breaking my fasts; sometimes eating roasted peanuts and banana, other times eating too much solid food to break the fast as if to make up for all the food I didn’t eat during the day. Pathetic wasn’t it? Oftentimes, I woke up the next day with stomach aches knowing very well I would have been better off had I broken my fast with juices or porridges instead of solid food. If the advice from the great Christian authors didn’t deter me from such foolishness, experience has definitely taught me better.

It was more difficult to keep on with this discipline on my own when I left school. Since then fasting hasn’t been a steady practice but a seasonal spurt. I remember one work day, I purposed to “put my stomach down.” I had to go for an impromptu meeting out of the office and there was this secretary bringing in trays, tea cups and lovely pastries. I simply forgot when I saw all the goodies and helped myself. Oops! And this is not the only time I’ve slipped. But the fallen toddler always rises up again to walk, isn’t it so? So do I, grace being on my side.

I’m wondering, do Christians really fast at all as a personal discipline? Or are they just silent (Matthew 6: 16-18) about it when they fast? What has your experience been? I don't want to start a bragging discussion about who has fasted longest and what not, so just think about it, you don’t have to comment.

God bless ya,
Lady Akofa.