Milia Disappearance

I know, the title of this blog post sounds mysterious, but, believe it or not, it has to do with a vanity issue! Now, I have never considered myself overly vain, but all women are vain to some extent or another. So this past winter, when Bill and I were in California, I was a bit annoyed to discover a small milia on the side of my nose. I had never had a milia before so I went to the know-it-all Internet to educate myself. A milia is a little white cyst that appears on the skin. Babies often have them for a short time. On adults, I read that one cause of a milia could be excessive use of facial creams. That fit my milia appearance. The sun in California just won't quit and I was using a lot of sunblock, more than usual. I read that the safest way to get rid of a milia is to have a dermatologist remove it. Now, I was not looking forward to seeing a dermatologist, something I have never done before, but I had sort of resigned myself to it. Then, voila, my milia disappeared...overnight!

I would never be writing such a silly article if I wasn't really impressed by how my milia went away. Here's the scoop (just in case YOU ever get a milia!): Every once in a while, I give myself a clay facial. Bill always finds this quite amusing, so I try to do it while he is taking a nap or washing the truck, etc. You know, mud facials DO make one look a little strange! But I have digressed.

After the facial, my skin felt squeaky clean. The milia was still there, but I did notice that the area around it seemed a little softer. I did not pay much attention to it. Then, a couple of days later, Bill and I were on a one-day water-only fast. The next morning, I woke up and the milia was gone. I was amazed.

My very non-professional analysis is that between the clay facial and the fast, my body cleansed itself of the milia, which it considered an unneeded impurity. Natural exfoliation at its finest. Makes me want to fast more...who knows what might come of it! In addition to helping us be more tuned-in to God and more tuned-out to our flesh, fasting has all kinds of side benefits.

Isaiah 58:8 unveils the benefits of a fast properly executed: "Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of the LORD shall be thy rereward." Good stuff...dirt and food-free days.