THE THREE O’CLOCK SNACK

Throughout my childhood, my Mom gave me a three o’clock snack: six cookies and a drink. That’s the time of day when lunch is gone, afternoon energy is waning, and dinner is too far into the future. I guess it’s a good time to re-load. It’s a beautiful thing to have a parent that understands that. The downside is that, at forty-seven, I still crave the three o’clock snack and there’s no one around to tell me I have a limit of six.

Pepperidge Farm or Entenmann’s, Nabisco or Keebler: it doesn’t matter too much to me, as long as it’s a cookie and it has some chocolate in it. Raisins are out because they won’t melt in my tea. Generally, I keep dunking bite after bite until the tea is gone. That’s bad. Way too many cookies fit in a cup of tea. Without much self-control over the three o’clock snack ritual, my latest strategy has been to switch to smaller tea cups.

I taught my daughter Corinne to enjoy the three o’clock snack at an early age. She knows the go-to Oreos are always hidden in my nightstand. When she was little, we had them with iced tea or milk, but she has since graduated to the cup of tea that I enjoy. She puts way too much sugar in hers. I find her cookie boxes and wrappers. I recognize the signs.

Even though the women in my family warned me, I wasn’t ready for the fast metabolism to cut out somewhere in my forties. Suddenly, in order to keep up with the cookie cravings, I need to exercise. That actually stinks. There’s no time of day scheduled for that. There’s no such tradition as the four o’clock walk or anything. Who the heck wants that? I am high energy, so I move all day: dancing, hiking, staircases at work, frequent marches down the hall to the main office. Even frantic cleaning counts as exercise in my world, but now I’m finding that, one pound gained at a time, I am seeing the need for a true change in tradition. It’s too late for Corinne, but perhaps the next generation will learn about the three o’clock apple.

Years ago, a close friend of mine started fasting for health purposes. I heard about her one-day fasts and could easily imagine skipping dinner, but couldn’t fathom missing the cookies at three. As she got more involved and saw the benefits to her complexion and her energy, she increased her fasts to several days. She looked great, too. She continued with vitamins and hydration, but not cookies. I was intrigued, but still not interested in trying it for myself.

It wasn’t until I started to learn about fasting as a spiritual practice that I considered finding out more. I knew that Jesus had fasted for forty days at the onset of His ministry, but I didn’t know much else. I remembered that He had been strengthened by His close prayer with God and that Satan tried to tempt Him with food. It seemed to me that Satan recognized that fasting was an effective tool to bring us closer to the Lord. Maybe that’s one reason why he tried to tempt Jesus to break his fast? I investigated more.

As an ESL teacher, I encounter the many cultures and religions of the world. I have found it most interesting to speak to students whose faith brought them to the practice of fasting. Even at the elementary level, I have had students who choose to fast, even though their young age gives them a way out. I remember one student telling me that he wanted to sacrifice for God, to be closer to Him in prayer, and to understand suffering just a little bit so he could be compassionate for those who were poor and without food. I was very moved by his great faith and early wisdom. As I read the scriptures, I see that fasting is a recommended practice for human health and for a closer walk with God.

Once, during a time of great trial in my life, I attempted my first fasting day. It was a busy work day filled with lesson plans and the chatter of children. I planned to skip breakfast and lunch and head to a prayer meeting before having a small dinner. I carried crackers with me just in case I couldn’t hold out. As the day went on, I felt the cloudy headache and the queazy stomach, but sips of tea and water were just about enough to keep me going. I made it through until dinner, but not without two crackers at three o’clock. I learned later on that fasting is best done on days where I could be in prayer rather than at work. And it’s true.

As God kept leading me to others who were learning to fast, I felt a push to try again. Turns out I’ve been able to manage full days on just liquids when I’m focussed on the Lord. He is My Provider, My Everything. Hunger is a reminder to pray. The scripture tells us not to brag about our fasting. We aren’t supposed to tell everyone on a fasting day about how wonderful we are for sacrificing for God, for our great efforts to get closer to Him. It should be between us and God. I stink at that! I talk. I tell secrets by mistake. It’s rare for a ‘chatterbox’ like me to keep a thought to myself, so it’s especially tough to get through the three o’clock snack time without warning those around me about the probable crankiness. I’m getting better, but not by much. My efforts continue.

I want to take care of the body that God gave me, of the temple of the Holy Spirit that He allows me to enjoy. I want to remain healthy as I grow old without extra belly weight that hurts my back. I want to know God better every day. I’m becoming more accustomed to fasting days and enjoying the blessings of spending the day with the Lord. I’ve even twice attempted a five-day fast where both times I caved on day four. I still over-compensate on the day that follows by doubling up on my cookie intake, but the jump in the size of my jeans coupled with the reports from that pesky bathroom scale remain the annoying reminders of the slowing metabolism and the need to correct.

It’s looking like the right time for me to get better acquainted with the E-word (exercise) because I am not at all ready to be weaned from the three o’clock snack.

Suggestions welcome.

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