Perseverance

"...steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success."

This morning is the London marathon; one of my life ambitions to complete, but something that I don't think I'll be doing for a while as currently the furthest distance I've ever run is 5km... 

This image doesn't capture my disgusted face.

However, on Friday at our Youth meal at Nandos, I was told to do something that probably equals marathon running in its difficulty and perseverance. It's a tradition that new Youth leaders have to do called "The Nandos Challenge" which involves members of youth group putting whichever food & drink items they like into a glass and then forcing us to drink it. 

Happily for me, I wasn't the only newbie, but unfortunately the 'beverage' was a combination of many non-combinable things: olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic bread, chips & chicken mixed together with various fizzy drinks to ensure that it can be sipped though a straw. If you're ever forced to do such a thing, I think the best possible tactic is to drink fast without tasting and swallow all at once for minimal disruption to your taste buds. Also bring a massive bar of chocolate to get rid of the aftertaste. 

After completing the challenge and consequently being accepted into the gang, I realised that the contents of the drink probably added up to the grand total of this week's food budget. My fundraising challenge begins tomorrow and means I'll only have £5 to purchase food for five days and thanks to the extreme generosity of friends, I'm doing a sponsored silence for the whole time. If you'd still like to give money, you can do so here. 

My thoughts leading up to tomorrow have been worry, fear, and wondering just how exactly I'm going to survive without caffeine or chocolate. Everyone else is intrigued and excited. It's going to be a task that requires a lot of perseverance. 

Yesterday I attended 24-7 Prayer's day resource day. I met many amazing and inspiring people and there was a beautiful sense of community that I've only ever found among Christians. There, it struck me that perseverance affects the way we pray too. Not that prayer is a horrible experience that you have to persist with before you get used to (like my disgusting beverage or five day challenge) but more that we need to understand that prayer is not immediate by human standards. It's a journey where we're communicating and building up a relationship with God who also happens to be creator of our universe, outside of earthly time. As a result, this week of silence and minimal food will be twinned with intentional prayer times to reflect & (silently) talk to God.  

God speaks in silence. I'm excited for what that's going to mean. God can satisfy more than food. That's something I'm going to remember when I'm bored of eating porridge and rice.