Where God's Word Meets Our Mess
Oh, how I hate looking in the mirror. I hate being around skinny girls. I hate going clothes shopping. And I hate stepping on the scale. Why? Because I don't like my body. Honestly, I haven't for a very long time. Nothing is wrong with it—it works perfectly fine and is completely healthy. Yet it's still so hard to accept the body I have. But isn't that just part of womanhood?
This post was written by author, speaker, podcaster, and co-founder of Girl Defined Ministries, Bethany Beal, who has written several books for young women. I've consumed so much content from Girl Defined over the years and can't wait for you to read this post written by its co-founder! This post, just like Girl Defined Ministries as a whole, shows girls the truth about their God-given identity.
Everyone has a unique eating disorder recovery journey, which is something that I had to come to terms with earlier in my own recovery journey. I wanted my recovery—particularly my mental, emotional, and spiritual recovery—to be fast. But it wasn’t. My physical recovery was fairly quick, but it has taken (not took, but has taken) years for me to recover mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Because my eating disorder took a much bigger toll on my mind, heart, and soul than on my body, honestly.
One of my goals at TTT is to share encouraging content with you, and that is certainly my goal for today's post. This wasn't an easy post for me to prepare because it involves the death of a young woman due to a severe eating disorder. However, her mom, Dr. Lisa L. Billings, demonstrates great courage in transparently discussing her daughter's eating disorder and the sadness that she has experienced as a result of it. Not only do I want this post to be an encouraging reminder to unconditionally love those in your life who are battling an eating disorder, but I also want this post to be an encouraging reminder that because of Jesus' suffering and death, we can find purpose in our deepest sadness. He wants to draw us near, friends.
You did it. You finally lost that weight. You finally ran that marathon. You finally gave up sugar for a month. You finally fit into your dream size. You finally mastered that workout. And yet something doesn't feel right. You still don't love your body. "So," you ask yourself, "since I don't love my body after I've done all this, when will I love my body?" The answer to that question may initially disappoint you, but I hope you'll find freedom in it.
Friends, I'm very excited to share the first ever video interview on TTT! Brittany Braswell, whom I connected with through Wonderfully Made, shares her thoughts about eating disorders, body image, and nutrition from the perspective of a Christian Registered Dietician. If you resonate with what she says, head over to her website linked here!
Hi, friends! For today's post, I'm actually going to share a podcast link with you from UncommonTEEN, which is a ministry led by Jamie Kirschner that's dedicated to helping young women thrive in their God-given identity. I was recently on the UncommonTEEN podcast to talk about Real Recovery: What Eating Disorder Recovery Actually Looks Like and to share some of my story about anorexia and recovery. This was the first podcast I'd ever been on, so shout out to Jamie for taking a chance on me! I so appreciate her kindness and support of Real Recovery! I also appreciate her mission to help teen girls grow in Christ! To listen to Jamie's interview with me, head over to the UncommonTEEN podcast!
It’s Easter Sunday, and the sun is shining brightly. The daffodils are blooming outside. The grass is finally starting to look green again.
You sit on a hard wooden pew in the old church sanctuary. You are surrounded by a sea of people who seem genuinely joyful. Their cheerful voices echo throughout the entire sanctuary. But Satan’s voice is the only thing you can hear right now.
Eventually, the muffin was gone, and I realized that I had eaten it…well, at least half of it. It wasn’t a giant muffin, but that didn’t make a difference in my post-anorexia mind. It might as well have been a basketball-sized muffin with triple the chocolate chips. The rest of the day, I allowed my thoughts to descend into Ed’s Black Hole.
Tizzie's Tidbits of Truth 