The Preacher’s Wife Starves to Death for Jesus

I never cease to be amazed at the antics of the Hard Over Christians. Earlier today while surfing the web I was shocked by the story of, by all accounts, a good and decent woman who starved herself to death for Jesus. This goes beyond the pale. It is akin to self-flagellation except without the whips and the blood. There is no other description, nor is there a word more appropriate than “fanatic.” Curiously “fasting” has been around for centuries and has its roots in, no surprise here, the Bible, a book responsible in part for the deaths of millions of both people and living creatures the world over.

The “acceptable fast” is discussed in the biblical Book of Isaiah, chapter 58:3-7. In essence, it means afflict the soul through abstaining from fulfilling the needs or wants of the flesh. The opening chapter of the Book of Daniel, vv. 8-16, describes a partial fast and its effects on the health of its observers.

Fasting is a practice in several Christian denominations or other churches. Some denominations do not practice it, considering it an external observance, but many individual believers choose to observe fasts at various times at their own behest. The Lenten fast observed in the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church is a forty-day partial fast to commemorate the fast observed by Christ during his temptation in the desert. This is similar to the partial fasting within the Ethiopian Orthodox Church (abstaining from meat and milk) which takes place during certain times of the year and lasts for weeks. The Bible sets aside one whole day a year for fasting, The Day of Atonement. Leviticus 23:27, 32 (CEV) says “Everyone must go without eating from the evening of the ninth to the evening of the tenth on the seventh month which is the Day of Atonement.”

Evelyn Boyd, 55, wife of Rev. John Boyd of Higher Praise Full Gospel Ministries in Bartow, Florida, died alone in her room after fasting for 3 weeks. She was dead at least 1-3 days before her body was discovered by her husband. Those are the bare facts of this tragedy but there’s more to the story than that. There are lessons to be learned. Here are some of the details:

Both Evelyn and John were well-regarded in their community. John, a retired firefighter, had been involved in ministering more than 30 years, the last two of which were spent as pastor of Higher Praise Full Gospel Ministries. He and Evelyn met at church 33 years ago and have six grown children. Evelyn was a devout and giving woman. “Anything she could do for you, she would,” one neighbor said. “If you were sick, she’d come over with soup or something. And she was a great cook.”

In late 2008, Evelyn retired from work in order, John Boyd said, to have more time to help people and become closer to God. Both she and her husband were accustomed to fasting as an act of devotion. In John’s case, fasts might last 2 or 3 days but Evelyn’s devotionals took far longer. She would shut herself into her bedroom sometimes for weeks on end with only such meager supplies as she thought she needed. Since there was no adjoining bathroom, these included plastic bags for waste that, when filled, were lowered into a garbage can outside her window. She allowed no one to see her while fasting and she never checked with a doctor beforehand. Her husband said she didn’t believe in them.

In 2009, Evelyn Boyd began fasting in earnest. On two occasions fasts lasted 21 days; another lasted 23 days. The longest one was for 40 days though she allowed herself some bread and crackers that time. On Feb. 7, Evelyn Boyd entered her bedroom with her plastic bags and water containers for the last time. John Boyd says he wanted to check on her but respected her need for alone time with God. On March 5, John was returning home from an overnight fishing trip in the early hours of the morning when he saw that her bedroom window was open despite the bitter chill in the air. That’s when he entered and discovered Evelyn’s lifeless body.

Though the official autopsy reports won’t be ready for nearly 30 days, Associate Medical Examiner Dr. Vera Volnikh believes Evelyn died from severe dehydration. A small amount of liquid was found in her stomach but there was no evidence of any food. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the the death but doesn’t anticipate that any charges will be filed.

Evelyn Boyd was obeying what God told her to do, John Boyd said. “God called her home.”

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