Even if I don' know you personally, I feel a deep connection and passion for every woman who longs for "something more" when it comes to their health and body. I don't know your story, but most often the ladies I work with are looking for hope, peace, joy and energy. They want to be free. They want to be able to put on a pair of jeans without judging themselves. They want to be able to enjoy a glass of wine or a piece of cake without feeling guilt and shame. They want to have the outside reflect who they are on the inside. They want to believe they don't have to spend the rest of their lives worrying and obsessing over their weight. But they also believe that losing the weight is the means to everything they long for and they can't be trusted with the process. This drives the temptation to look to sources outside of themselves (and God) to "fix" what they believe is broken.
Most of you have probably lost weight, and gained it again. You have probably experienced some confidence and peace when you got some results and then felt it slip away as the scale creeped up and old habits settled back in. This dissatisfaction, frustration, fear and guilt we feel around our weight isn't just about how we look, it's part of a deception. If we spend our energy, money and time listening to what the world says we need to do to achieve the latest standard of beauty, we will miss the true path to peace and purpose. We were not designed to live in obsession or to be powerless to our flesh and what it desires. We were created to overcome temptations, tear down strongholds and live free. God did not give us a spirit of fearfulness, but of power and love and discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7
I've been what society would label as "thin and fit" yet I had no real sense of peace, joy or connection to my purpose. I lacked energy to do anything beyond surviving. I lived in bondage to the fear that I would lose my results. I was always striving to get somewhere different because where I was and who I was wasn't good enough. I had given up hope of ever being free and settled for creating an illusion that I was free. I believed I would always have to obsess. I believed the scale would always govern how I felt about myself. I believed calorie counting, comparing myself to other women and obsessing over when I was going to workout or binge and purge would always consume my daily thoughts. Perhaps you can relate.
It's been over twelve years since my last binge and purge episode and the moment that I came to the end of my own strength and stopped listening to the world's wisdom. God met me with arms outstretched, asking me to surrender it to him. I did and He has been faithful to walk with me on my path to living healthy, whole and free. I am a new creation and a diet isn't my guide, God is! I am learning over and over again that it was never about the weight, but rather what the weight represented. Weight, for me, was a shield to avoid rejection, proof that I was enough, evidence that I was worthy of love and an indication that I was in control and successful. God wanted to deliver me into my healthy body, but more than that, he wanted to deliver me from the lies. The same is true for you!
I don't know what I weigh. I love my body and therefore I do what is good for it. Food was once something I despised and used to to hurt myself, yet now it is a source of enjoyment and appreciation. My past does not dictate what I am capable of today. Condemnation and guilt no longer drive my thoughts or flow from my choices. My daughter, Berlyn, will never know the hot-mess version of her mama. But I had to walk through the pain to get to the promise. I had to allow God to work in me to break off habits and mindsets that were counter to being healthy and whole. And you, my sweet sister, have the same opportunity to pursue and grab ahold of your freedom. This challenge is an incredible start to that journey.
I want to be upfront. I don't sugar coat anything. So if you are looking for someone to make you feel warm and fuzzy while you stay in your dysfunctional comfort - this challenge is not for you. The truth is many of us believe the weight is the doorway to everything that is missing in our lives. But what if the weight "issue" is the very battle God desires to fight with us? What if in the process of turning this over to God, we find the true source of our identity, comfort and freedom? What if the "weight" is the place God wants to teach us about surrender, obedience and trust? What if a diet is just a distraction from the true source and path of our healing? What if? Let's find out!
This is not your normal challenge. It is designed to heal you from the inside-out. The how-to's are necessary and I will go above and beyond to provide powerful and amazing tools I use in my own life and with my clients. But if you want to live free, you have to break the shackles off. You have to choose to break-up with the mindsets and perspectives that are driving your unhealthy habits and allow God into your broken places. It's time to leave the old behind and step into the new!