by Heidi Bylsma | Nov 27, 2013 | Blog
Are you like many? Dreading the holiday season?
Are you convinced that you will be taken out—knocked down for the count—all because turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie (etc.) have an amazing “left hook” and you feel like you just can’t resist heading straight for disaster in the presence of sweet potato pie?
Are you persuaded that all your good intentions will be for naught at Thanksgiving Dinner tomorrow or the first Christmas party of the season…only to be multiplied in the days to come…so you figure why should I bother trying…I will only fail?
If we take on this fatalistic thinking, we will be convinced that there is “no point” in being vigilant through the holidays. We will put off having any boundaries and wait to focus in January—maybe even after we have gained some additional weight and hardened our hearts further!… After all, we reason, there is an online Thin Within class I can plan to take in January. I will get serious then!
Let’s DITCH 🙂 this trepidation, intimidation stuff.
Let’s DITCH the lies!
We serve the Living God!
He blew the lid off the grave!
The same resurrection power that raised Jesus out of the tomb is available to lift us away from the table and enable us to say NO to another bite beyond 5 (Ephesians 1:19,20).
Do I really think I can’t say no? That is a lie! Time to admit it!
Let’s choose to REDEEM the time we have right here and right now! Yes, even on the eve of Thanksgiving! Let’s embrace the meaning of passages such as these:
Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ,
and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.
– Romans 13: 14
—
…train yourself to be godly
1 Timothy 4:7b
What if, instead of being intimidated by what’s ahead on the holiday horizon, we were to view this as an opportunity for training in godliness?
Wouldn’t it be great if, by this time on Friday, you could look back over the previous day and rejoice that you had taken captive run-away thoughts (many might be lies) and had emerged a victor, rather than a victim of yet another Thanksgiving Day feast?
Think about it! We have an OPPORTUNITY to navigate through the most CHALLENGING season and to learn a lot as we do—by desperately clinging to God and seeing his grace as a presence, provision, and power in the moment or even by observing and correcting in those rare instances when we “mess up!”
What if we were to truth journal, truth card, Sound Cloud, You Tube, bible study our way through this season instead of just belly up, give in, not care?
Has God called you to boundaries of hunger/satisfied eating? I know for many of us, this is a conviction in our hearts. Then is it really negotiable? Rather than making a provision for our flesh to go hog-wild and eat whatever we want tomorrow, maybe we can make a “provision for our spirit”… by doing as Christina suggested in yesterday’s post and having a battle plan!
Let’s think of the next five weeks as a great opportunity to train for godliness, to grow in dependence on the Lord, to build our thanksgiving muscles (not just tomorrow, but every day). This is a season for training. If we make it through January 1st staying on the horse, or getting back on immediately if we DO fall off, we can do just about anything relative to our eating after these holiday parties and cookie exchanges are over. We don’t need to come out the other side of December looking like the Christmas Cookie Crisco Girls! We can train our spirits AND our bodies so that we have grown closer to the Lord and have released weight, too!
The reason I know YOU can do it is because I did it and I was the biggest rebel ever known to exist! So if I can do it, you can, too. I wrote this post on January 2, 2007, where I share the details of my first holiday season being faithful to God and the conviction that he wanted me to eat 0 to 5 even during the holidays. I had released just over 20 pounds–much of it through November and December! If that is your need, YOU CAN do this, TOO!
How About You?
Honestly, it IS possible for you to emerge victorious on January 2nd! AND it doesn’t need to ruin your holiday fun, too! I can’t promise you won’t have to make sacrifices, but isn’t it worth it? This time next month, you could have shed the burden of some extra weight, enjoyed your holiday celebrations (so far), AND be closer to the Lord! To do that, I challenge you to:
- Shift from an intimidation mentality to an opportunity mentality. Think of this as an OPPORTUNITY to TRAIN for godliness this holiday season! Start now! Just think about how much stronger you will be for whatEVER challenges face you after December!
- Recommit to 0 to 5 eating boundaries. Ask God to show you if this is what HE wants for you—even through the holidays.
- Commit to getting back on the horse again quickly if you do fall off. Honestly, the success we experience in this approach is not by pursuing perfection. It is by refusing to quit. Instead, over time, you will fall off the horse less frequently and stay on the ground less long. So if you find yourself having “messed up,” just get back in the saddle. RIDE! 🙂 FIGHT! It is worth it!
- Try this…my friend Barb has a great idea. It has worked for me! Since she knows she may want an extra bite of _______ even outside of her boundaries, she tells herself she can have _______ after she has renewed her mind. You can do this by choosing to do a set of questions in the “I Deserve a Donut” app or the “I Deserve a Donut” book (both by Barb) or even after you have read a post at this blog (or another blog that encourages you). Chances are once you do that, you won’t want the extra bites of __________. Last night I did this when I wanted a second handful of chocolate covered cashews. It worked like a charm. I didn’t want them. I knew I COULD, but didn’t!
So, who of you are IN? 🙂
P.S. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that, if you think you need a bit of extra support, you can get some coaching during the holidays. If you are interested in that, have a look at the Coaching page.
by Christina Smith | Nov 26, 2013 | Blog
The holidays are quickly approaching, with Thanksgiving (in the United States) just a couple of days away. This means there may be a lot of opportunities to practice staying within our God-given boundaries. There may be temptations lurking around every corner, but with every single temptation, God has provided a way out. This is such good news!
No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. 1 Corinthians 10:13
There is nothing wrong with the sweets and goodies that surround our holiday parties and traditions. The Lord has said that ALL foods are hallowed in His name. I am determined to view all food as being “good”.
For every creature of God is good, and nothing is to be refused if it is received with thanksgiving; for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:4-5
Six years ago, I was practicing the principles of Thin Within for a short time. I released 5 pounds and was delighted to see that eating within 0-5 truly works! But then shortly after, I went home around Thanksgiving time and everything came to an abrupt halt. You see, my grand-parents make the most amazing and delicious turkey dinner my taste buds have ever laid their eyes upon. That is, if taste buds even had eyes! Since I knew this was a meal I only partook of every few years, I ate way more than my body needed. And then there were the leftovers, which were just as good as the fresh, out of the oven delicacies. And for some reason, I lost momentum and went back to overeating and struggling with my weight and body image.
Looking back, I realize it didn’t have to be this way. I could have enjoyed smaller portions of their amazing turkey dinner during the actual meal AND leftovers. And because I did choose to overeat, I could have observed, corrected, and then continued eating 0-5 and releasing weight. I let the guilt and condemnation weigh me down. I believed the lies that I would never get back to being a normal eater. And after this incidence I struggled for years with dieting, eating, and food, all because of one turkey dinner and its leftovers.
I blamed the food. That’s a diet mentality.
I felt so guilty that I decided to eat more and more. That’s a diet mentality.
Since that Thanksgiving meal, I asked my grandmother for her recipes. On a recipe card, I have typed out each step of how they prepare their turkey dinner, from brand names, to minutes of stirring. I have replicated this meal several times over the last several years, and though it’s not quite THE turkey dinner my grand-parents master, I think I have come pretty close!
You can do the same thing with holiday meals or foods. When you know that you can have that food later (even if it has to be next Thanksgiving or Christmas), you will find that you can actually relax and enjoy each delightful bite! Ask for the recipe! Take leftovers home! Freeze cookies. There are so many options to having that food for future enjoyment!
Heidi posted about the importance of being proactive in our eating in her post titled It Takes Energy!. On one of my truth cards I have copied some questions she asked:
How much energy do you put into lamenting poor choices…after the fact?
How much emotional energy do we put into beating ourselves up and then trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps?
What if I put some ENERGY into changing the way I think?
What if we went into the holidays geared up and ready? What kind of truths can you focus on to renew your mind about eating during the holidays? Do you have truth cards prepared for these moments?
My plan is to go into the holidays being proactive. I will have my truth cards. I will type out scriptures in my ‘notes’ section on my phone to read. I will read through the sections in Barb Raveling’s ‘I Deserve a Donut’ app. I will pray and ask the Lord for His strength. I will give thanks. I will have joy in knowing Christ has come to give us life and peace!
Those are all choices I can make BEFORE the holidays are even upon us.
I can be ready to turn down every temptation.
I can immediately expose every lie of the enemy with TRUTH!
Remember:
- You can always have those foods again!
- It’s completely possible to eat within 0-5 during the holidays.
- Eat what you enjoy!
- If you did choose to overeat, you can observe, correct, and wait until 0 the next time to eat.
- ALL foods have been blessed by God and hallowed in His name. Give thanks and enjoy His provision!
How about you?
How can you prepare in advance for the approaching holidays? Do you have your truth cards ready and handy?
Written by: Christina
by Heidi Bylsma | Nov 19, 2013 | Blog
Image Source: Morgue File
“It’s just a little snack!”
“I am going to eat healthy today!”
“Oh…if I get the house clean, I will have a little treat.”
“I am swearing off of all junk food.”
Food phrases come in all shapes and sizes, but I have discovered that certain words and phrases can be “little foxes” spoiling the “vineyard” in my eating life!
“Snack” – In the past, I, like many other people, would use the word “snack” to mean “free” eating—an “eating occasion” that doesn’t count. 🙂 It didn’t matter if I was hungry or not (or so the reasoning went) because it was “just a little taste of something.” While it probably wasn’t really a “sit down meal,” these “feedings” (as my naturally thin sister refers to them) count! Now, I prefer not to use the word “snack” at all because it carries years of meaning from my dieting background. If I DO refer to a “snack,” it typically means sitting down and enjoying a smaller portion of anything when I am at a 0 and just shaving off my hunger—not eating all the way to a 5…like stopping at a “2” or “3” on the hunger scale. True Thin Within “snacking” happens only at a 0 and it does, indeed, “count!” I know this isn’t a “fun” revelation. 🙂
I find it most helpful if I consider every single time food crosses my lips as a “meal.” With Thin Within we come to realize we don’t need that much food to sustain our very efficient bodies. So, if every time food crosses my lips I think of it as a meal (or “feeding”), I am more likely to use more discernment about what I choose. This is a basic boundary for us. (I can see you cringe…But where has NOT having this boundary really gotten us?) In the past, the quantity of food that I now consider a “meal” might have been called a “snack.” This is another reason why I don’t use the word “snack” much any more.
Think About It: If you have been doing Thin Within very long, consider the size of your portions and how they have changed. Is it possible that what you now consider an appropriate-sized meal you might have formerly called “just a snack?” How might this continue to change over time as you refine your hunger numbers?
“Junk Food” – It is popular to believe that some foods are “junk.” When we think of certain foods as “junk” it usually means we have declared those foods as “bad.” While it is true some food choices are better than others to feed my “perfect 0,” when I call something “junk,” I imply that the food is the culprit to my weight and eating issues. The truth is, *I* am the culprit with the way, the why, the when, of my eating. Food is not immoral in any way. It is not the culprit in my eating challenges. Instead of thinking of food as “junk food” (or not), I prefer to categorize foods the way that Thin Within speaks of in the second (Discernment) phase, as “teasers,” “pleasers,” “whole-body pleasers,” and “total rejects.” If I like the way a food tastes, but I feel lethargic after eating it, it might be a total reject or it may be a “teaser.” But I try not to think of it as “junk food.” The problem is typically more with ME and what I will DO with those foods than it is with the foods. (Even with a food that has no nutritional value, I find it helps me to just call it a total reject.)
Think About It: Are you like me? Needing to take responsibility for your eating instead of laying blame with the food? I have found that when I refer to foods as “junk” I beat myself up for eating them…which just sends me into a downward spiral. By referring to them, instead, as “total rejects” or “teasers,” I remind myself how *I* respond to them is what matters.
“Treat” – Ever notice that the foods that are in the “junk food” category are also often those referred to as “treats” as well? Calling something a “treat” sets up whatever-food-it-is as desirable to me. I end up seeing it as a reward. Do I really want to call food a “reward?” If I do that, it definitely lures me to eat outside of 0 and 5 whenever I am deserving of a “reward” and we know that I am always deserving of a reward (supposedly)! If I am happy, I deserve a reward. If I am sad, I deserve a reward. If I worked hard, I deserve a reward. If I run errands, I deserve a reward. If I stay home and vacuum, I deserve a reward. What if we think, instead, of things like “Time alone reading a good book,” or “A long hot bath” as rewards? Consider non-food blessings. 🙂 If I think of food as “treats” then those foods are in my mind as something I get when I am “good.” This sets me up for failure.
Think About It: What are some other non-food ways you can “treat” yourself? Is there any chance that viewing some foods as “treats” is hindering your victory? Do you find that some of the foods that you may have considered “junk food” are the very foods you have also considered “treats?”
“Healthy Eating“ – What IS “healthy eating?” It is most helpful to me to consider it “Living within God’s parameters.” Or eating according to physical need (empty) and physical satisfaction. Eating whole-body pleasers when my body needs food is my idea of “healthy eating.” It is important to note that my whole-body pleasers may be different from everyone else’s! This is NOT a one-size-fits-all approach! Healthy eating isn’t about which foods, but why (because of physical need) and when (when I am hungry). To think of “healthy eating” this way is definitely not the norm. Usually when we think of “healthy eating” we think of people who eat fruits, veggies, and lean meat and it isn’t about being hungry or not. I have known people who do not “eat healthy” even when they choose foods that seem more nutritionally dense. They still over-eat and don’t have a healthy relationship with food. Maybe you know some whole food connoisseurs or vegans who struggle with their weight just like others who eat primarily “junk food.” This really isn’t about the food, but about why we eat.
Think About It: What does healthy eating really look like for you? Is it what you choose to eat? Or is it when (hungry)? Or how much (enough to satisfy only)? Or a combination? What if you were to select only fruits and vegetables and lean meats, but eat for emotional reasons without regard to physical cues–would that be “eating healthy?” If you grab for the pita crisps instead of the Oreos when you just had a fight with your daughter is that “Healthy Eating?”
“Healthy Food” – This is like the other phrases that describe food, like “treat” or “junk food.” The problem with “healthy food” is it, again, seems to indicate that if I fix the food, then it is good to eat it…even if I don’t NEED food at that time. Sure, some foods are more nutritionally dense…more nutrition “bang” for energy “buck” and other foods are more “energy dense”…a lot less nutrition for the amount of energy consumed. But food is really inert, neutral, amoral. It isn’t the food that is healthy so much as how I relate to it. Is it “healthy” to eat a large salad when I am not hungry? I guess every person has to make this decision for herself, but the answer for me as a faithful Thin Within participant and veteran…NO. Eating anything when I don’t need to eat it isn’t healthy. It becomes recreational eating again! Categorizing foods into “healthy food” and “junk food” keeps me from owning my need to scrutinize the why and when of my eating choices. I have found it much more helpful to consider foods as teasers, pleasers, whole-body pleasers and total rejects for the reasons I shared above. I also have found that if I set up a category of “healthy food,” then if I want to be “healthy” I end up trying to force myself to enjoy those foods. While I am all for expanding our culinary horizons and venturing out into new tastes and textures, if I don’t like something and eat it just because it is a “healthy food” then I am setting myself up for a fall.
Think About It: What are whole-body pleaser foods or meals for you? Would it be helpful to you and support your godly goals to consider food this way instead of “healthy food?” Or as “beneficial foods?” I am not advising not to care about nutritional value, certainly, but giving an eye to nutrition and an eye to how foods make you feel might help you not try to force yourself to eat only foods that have certain nutritional content…so often that backfires! Or is that just me? 🙂
“Sort of Hungry” – Hunger/satisfied signals exist on a continuum. But I try to stay away from speaking about being “sort of hungry,” because I have found that if I do this, it “sort of” justifies “sort of” eating! 🙂 In fact, there are even times when I need to strip the hunger scale back to simple terms: “Hungry” or “NOT Hungry.” If you are experiencing limited success with your 0 to 5 eating, consider if you are possibly pre-empting “hungry” by entertaining the idea that being “sort of hungry” justifies eating.
Think About It: Do you find yourself eating when you are “sort of hungry” or “a little bit hungry?” Is that working for you? If you are not seeing the physical results you think you should be seeing, maybe honing in on a true zero … completely empty… will be helpful.
“Kind of Full” – If I am “Kind of Full,” that means that I think I “still have room” for more food. Maybe I need to see if my body is satisfied with less food, rather than if I can get away with more! (If you have a history of restricting, I am not speaking to you. Please know that God wants you to eat what you NEED to sustain good health!) Again, for me personally, it has helped to go to “bare bones” with my terminology with the hunger scale. Instead of looking at “AM I at a 5? Or is this only a 4 and I still have room for more food?” I need to look at “HUNGRY” or “NOT Hungry.” “Kind of Full” is definitely in the “Not Hungry” category. If I am NOT HUNGRY it is time to stop eating. Getting rid of “Kind of Full” helps me be faithful to the boundaries that God has set for me.
Think About It: Do you push to see how much food you can eat before you have pushed too far? Or are you happy with eating until you know you are not hungry any more and call it good? Again, if you are not seeing the physical results that you think you should be seeing, you may want to evaluate this. One strategy that has been helpful for me (when I do it!) is to have a boundary of always leaving some (even just a bite or two) of food on my plate. Sometimes, this gets fed to the family dog, but I find that it helps to cure me of my tendency to be greedy! (But builds bad begging habits in my dog!)
How About You?
Are you willing to eliminate these words or phrases from your vocabulary to see if that might help you move closer to the victory that you desire? What other words or phrases do you find might be like “little foxes,” hindering your realization of the victory that you know is yours?
by Christina Smith | Nov 13, 2013 | Blog
Last month, I wrote a blog post about what God has done so far this year in bringing change in my eating. At the end of the post, I shared that I am pregnant. I wanted to share a bit about what the Lord has been teaching me about what it looks like to be a Thin Within (aka “normal” eater) during pregnancy. For those of you who aren’t pregnant, I have something to share with you as well, so please keep reading!
As I shared in my previous post, in the middle of this journey of returning to normal eating, I found out I was pregnant with my second child. The Lord had already given me victory over a major stronghold food had over me, and was in the process of helping me overcome the diet mentality.
It’s been a huge blessing to be going through this part of this journey pregnant because it has forced me to not focus on weight or body image. It’s completely normal and necessary to gain weight throughout pregnancy. So that really freed my mind to just focus on eating 0-5 and to grow closer to the Lord in this area of my life. With my first pregnancy, I never weighed myself. Each time I was weighed at a prenatal appointment, I made sure to let them know that I didn’t want to know my weight (and this was before I was eating 0-5). It wasn’t until the very end that I asked about weight gain because I was just curious. And so far, I’ve done the same with this pregnancy.
Halfway through my 2nd pregnancy!
Weight gain during pregnancy can be attributed to so many things, but I am a firm believer that if you are eating 0-5 (as a normal eater) that it’s really genetics and other factors that come into play. Years ago, I read a book by Denise Austin (exercise guru) and she said that with both of her pregnancies that she gained 50 pounds. She’s a very fit lady and very conscientious of what she eats. If she can gain that amount of weight during pregnancy, then that just proves right there that there are factors out of our control that lead to weight gain beyond just the weight of baby. But this isn’t an excuse to just throw in the towel and eat, but hopefully it’s a good illustration that weight gain is a natural occurrence during pregnancy.
During the first few weeks after I found out I was pregnant, I was out of town visiting family. I was still at a point in this journey where I wasn’t completely delighting in my boundaries, so I found myself giving myself the “pregnant” excuse to eat. But the Lord quickly got my attention and showed me that He has created our bodies to eat 0-5 no matter what, even during pregnancy! So I reigned myself in and realized that it really didn’t take as much extra food as I had hoped.
Here’s the thing—I think a lot of women use pregnancy as an excuse to eat with abandon. But really, 0-5 still applies. You don’t even need to worry if you are getting those extra [insert “magic” number] calories a day. All that is required is listening to our body and honoring our hunger. It’s really so simple.
Here is what it says about pregnancy and eating 0-5 in Thin Within (page 79):
“A common belief that can lead to rationalizing is that any amount of weight gain is acceptable during pregnancy, despite abundant medical evidence to the contrary. To apply the Thin Within Keys to Conscious Eating during this special time might seem inappropriate, but we have had many women use the Thin Within tools when they were pregnant. We have found that 0 to 5 eating uniformly results in less weight gain, fewer blood pressure and diabetes problems, more comfortable and enjoyable pregnancies, and happier mothers, babies, and obstetricians. What a wonderful time to honor your body, God’s temple.”
About 7 weeks into pregnancy I started to feel “yucky”. Call it morning sickness, call it “feeling gross”, call it whatever you want, but I felt really weird at times. I found that if I waited too long to eat that it would make me feel worse. So I had to find the fine line between 0 and “eat now!” It was tricky, but I did my best. I just wanted to be so careful that I didn’t use that as an excuse just to eat for the sake of eating. I really wanted to honor God and stay within my 0-5 boundaries.
I’ve also noticed that I’ve had to tweak how I would normally eat. Like, I eat 2 breakfasts. Maybe I’m part Hobbit; I call it Breakfast #1 and Breakfast #2. I’m finding I cannot eat too much for Breakfast #1, otherwise I feel weird. About 1-1/2 to 2 hours later I am hungry again, so I will eat Breakfast #2. For other meals, it’s helped to use a small plate or bowl for portions because I really cannot eat too much (and actually, I would use those same plates and bowls anyway). As I am eating 0-5, I am surprised at how little food I actually need, even pregnant.
And to be honest, I cannot share all of this without admitting that I find myself wondering what it will be like after pregnancy. Will it take a long time to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight? Will I be tempted to diet? Will I feel pressure to be a certain size by a certain time? Will I have time to exercise?
I lost my first pre-pregnancy weight fairly quickly. Unfortunately, the weight loss was sped up by being sick and in the hospital for almost a week due to a burst appendix and surgery, 6 months after my first child was born. But I don’t look at that as a fair way of getting back to pre-pregnancy weight. And thankfully we only have one appendix, so that won’t be a reoccurrence.
I do know this: I can trust God!
His ways are perfect! At the core of every human being we are a normal eater. I can trust Him that if I honor Him by eating 0-5 and eating within my boundaries, that I will release any weight that is needed to get back to my God-given size. I don’t need a diet. I don’t get a strict exercise regime. I can listen to the Lord and honor my hunger signals that He has given me.
Praise God!
How about you?
Maybe you aren’t pregnant, but maybe you struggled with overeating when you were pregnant. Or maybe it’s that pregnancy weight you are hoping to release since you had your last child. Can I encourage you that eating 0-5 will help you release that weight? There’s no magic formula, no gimmicks—just pure and simple waiting for 0 and eating to a satisfied 5. The Lord has set up a perfect way to release baby weight and get back to our God-given size and weight. Isn’t that awesome!? All of His ways are perfect!
Maybe you are years past your pregnancy years, are waiting to have children, or maybe you are a man reading this. Do you find yourself making excuses to eat? Do you have weight you would like to release? Is there something in your life that is tempting you to throw in the towel and just [over]eat? Are you willing to admit those excuses are only getting in your way of finding peace with food and finding freedom with the Lord’s help?
What can you do today to stop making those excuses?
Written by: Christina
by Heidi Bylsma | Nov 12, 2013 | Blog
I am traveling with my husband this week and so it is with great pleasure that I get to keep sharing blog posts written especially for you all but BY you! People who are in our blog community here, commenting along with you, in the trenches along with you. This author has a powerful challenge for us! Then, tomorrow, Christina will share some valuable insights for pregnancy (and beyond!). ~ Hugs, Heidi
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A few years ago, I competed in a women’s triathlon. When a competitor arrived for the event, a volunteer would write two things on her calf. On the outside of the calf, the volunteer wrote the competitor’s race number. On the back of the calf, the volunteer wrote the woman’s age. As I competed that day, whenever I would race behind a woman, I noted her age and her figure. Was she thinner than me, or bigger? Older and younger? I wanted to be thinner than the other women, and younger, too. I hated to realize that many times, I was neither.
Suddenly, I felt a firm conviction from the Lord. “You’ve set a standard for your life that did not come from Me.” Having a perfect figure had always been so important to me; but apparently, not for God. As a child, I was a normal weight, but was pushed into dieting at a young age. I wonder now if it was because I developed early, and the extra curves made everyone uncomfortable. Either way, I knew my body was the problem in my family, and I needed to “fix” it. When I wanted to eat normal food, instead of diet food, I had to sneak it. I felt guilty about my appetite. I also felt doomed, because I wanted more. More food, more approval, more love, and more of anything than filled the aching hole in my heart.
When bullies at school targeted me, they made fun of my body. Humiliated daily, I retreated further into both shame and striving. If only I were perfect, I thought, the bullies would stop. I made it my mission to eliminate anything that made me a target for cruelty. I wanted, above all, to fit in. To be perfect, and perfectly acceptable.
Believing the lie that perfection is a good and obtainable standard is like staring into the eyes of a snake. I’ve read that some snakes hypnotize their prey this way, rendering them immobile before the poisonous strike. Overeating became a way for me to “break the trance” of perfection. It allowed me to give up the fight temporarily. But God calls me to give up the fight forever. He is asking me to love peace not perfection.
Surrendering to God by living within my 0-5 boundaries also means surrendering my attempts to insulate myself from pain. God never promised to spare me from reality; He did, however, promise to redeem it. To have the peace of surrender, I must accept the pain and uncertainty of imperfections. I must, actually, accept myself.
And that’s a race I’m just starting.
Hunger Within states, “When we are assaulted in this spiritual battle and tempted to give way to despair and old patterns of thinking and behaving, we must remind ourselves that God has provided his spiritual armor to equip us for holy action.”
How About You?
” Abstain from sinful desires that wage war against your soul.”
~ 1 Peter 2:11
“If you had only known on this day what would bring you peace.”
~ Luke 19:42
What desires are stirring your discontent and anger? And what choices could you make, just for today, that would bring you peace?
~ G. Ann Arias
