I wasn’t sure on writing about this because it is very personal, but the thought about it kept entering into my head weeks after. I talked to God about it and I had this sense that someone somewhere may need to read this one day or will recognize a similar experience in their own life.

This isn’t a story about “look at what I captured this weekend” or “look what I did”. If anything, it’s the opposite. It’s about what God did in my heart during a time when I chose to draw closer to Him.

As a photographer, I know most people see the images I create, but they don’t always get to know the person behind the camera. My faith is a big part of who I am, and it shapes the way I see people, relationships, and the moments I capture.

So this is simply me sharing a small piece of my story, one that shows a little more about my relationship with God and the journey He’s been walking me through.

The thought of fasting for seven days had entered my mind one week and then the weekend came and I forgot about it.

That following Monday morning as I was waking up the thought entered my mind:

“Hey you mentioned you were going to fast for seven days”.

I took that as conviction.

Everyone’s reasons for fasting are different but my reason for it was for my relationship with God to become deeper and more intimate. To rely fully on Him for strength and not my own.

To sacrifice something that I relied on everyday—food—to support my body.

I wanted to place that on the altar and remind my heart that God is still number one.

Everything I have is His anyway. The food I buy, the money I use at the grocery store—He provides it all.

Yes, I work, but He’s the One who gave me the job that allows me to provide for myself.

Thoughts like:

• If you fast you’re going to lose the muscle you gained through your workouts.
• You’re going to starve.
• You’re going to pass out.
• People will notice and they will think you are sick.
• You won’t pass the exam coming up because you’re not giving yourself the nutrients your brain needs.

All of those words entered my head…. but those accusations were the enemy trying to deter the deepening of my relationship with God.

My response to those false claims was simple:

“I am all God’s. My muscles and my body belong to Him.”

“He will supply me with what I need to pass the test. He sees me, and He knows why I’m doing this.”

“Through this, I’m choosing to show my dependence on God instead of on myself. I trust that my Father will take care of me because He sees that I’m relying on Him and not on my own ways.”

Fasting was my way of acknowledging that every provision ultimately comes from Him and choosing to put Him first….and guess what?

NONE OF WHAT THE ENEMY SAID….HAPPENED

I never passed out, I didn’t starve. When I would feel a little hungry God met me there and supplied the spiritual food I needed when I came to Him.

AND yes…..I did pass the state exam.

God supplied it all! None of it was me. Had I depended on myself I would have been standing in front of the fridge.

But I chose to die to myself and depend on God.

Through that He showed me that He will carry me and He is all that I need.

But the biggest thing I noticed was something unexpected.

Many months before this, I had been carrying so much sadness after a relationship ended—after someone said they wanted a life with me and to marry me after four years…..but didn’t. I kept bringing it to God in prayer, asking Him to take those feelings away.

I even had a distinct dream during that week of fasting and what I saw in that dream the symbolic of it all meant:

“I am free and no longer contained”.

As I walked through my fast day by day, I realized something:

I wasn’t sad anymore.

It was during and shortly after the fast that God began revealing things to me that I hadn’t fully seen before.

He reminded me of specific dreams I had during that relationship and gently helped me understand what they meant.

God was doing something in my heart that I didn’t even realize was happening. It felt like He was finally freeing me from it all.

I feel refined through the process and closer to my Father (Abba) God which is the best place to be.

Months and months of prayer finally granted.

Through that time of healing (and still am), I felt Him reminding me that I am His daughter and that He never wanted me to stay somewhere that was slowly draining my heart.

I am His and He is mine and wants THE VERY BEST FOR ME.

And the same is true for you—He wants what is best for you too.

During that week of fasting, He showed me something so clearly:

When we surrender what we depend on and come to Him fully, He really does meet us there.

He provides the strength, the peace, and the healing we need.

What the enemy tried to use to create fear and doubt became a reminder of God’s faithfulness instead.

In the end, what I thought I was giving up during that fast was small compared to what God gave back—peace, freedom, and a deeper trust in Him.