Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? 1 Corinthians 6:19
Friend, do you eat in response to stress? Does a Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia call your name as you walk pass the ice cream cooler at the grocery store? When feeling stress due to a deadline do you find yourself drinking an Iced Caffe Vanilla Frappuccino rationalizing that you earned this drink because you are working hard to meet the deadline. Prior to 2011, I responded to stress by eating.
Some of the stress events, my first son’s wedding, working with migraine headaches, changing jobs, resigning as a supervisor, menopause, my second son’s wedding at our house, becoming a grandparent, struggling with knee pain, starting a new job, losing our house due to financial crisis, and an empty nest. Did I mention dieting during these events.
Because I ate whether glad, sad or mad and struggling with health related issues I was weighing 233 pounds, my eating when stressed did not help trying to lose weight. After three attempts at fast weight loss in October 2011, feeling a failure I was diagnosed with Morbid Obesity. My body mass index was 40. A healthy BMI is 24-29.
At the end of my rope, I decided to see if I qualified for bariatric weight loss surgery. Part of the requirements for surgery was to attend classes for six months from October 2011 to March 2012 to prepare for surgery. You see, I admitted that food was my go to when stressing and my idol. During this time, I humbly acknowledged that I loved food more than God and I repented from poor choice facing the fact I needed to change.
July 23, 2012 was a life changing day. I had a gastric sleeve where two-thirds of my stomach was removed. Surgery went well and I made a promise to God to never eat past full again or to relieve my stress. Learning to go to God instead of food when I am stressing is one of my strategies. Celebrating three years, I am still on a journey with God to honor Him with the healing He has given me in this area of my life. I have lost 103 pounds during this long journey. I wore a size 20 and now I am a 6. My BMI is 24 and I am at a normal weight. You see, food is no longer a stress band-aide, however; most importantly food no longer an idol for me. I eat to live but I no longer live to eat. I want only to be a temple of the Holy Spirit. Today I am sharing my testimony that turning to God is better than any doughnut or Caramel Macchiato.
Beloved, what can you do today to begin treating your body as God’s temple?
What step can you take to stop the cycle of eating as a result of stress?
Feel free to leave your name or comment if you struggle with overeating and stress eating so I can pray for you today.
