When facing an eating disorder, your world becomes nothing but endless fear! Being anorexic, I was destroying my family, depleting our finances and driving my husband to the brink of a breakdown.
I don’t remember admitting to myself that my eating disorder was an addiction. However, I do remember how God reached down to me in love and led me out of it.
My road to recovery started when my husband, Tom, took me by the hand and assured me that we would get through this together. He suggested that I get professional help.
Wanting the pain that filled our world to stop for my family, I agreed to go. I found a counselor who specialized in anorexia.
The pitiful truths of my mental and physical health were devastating to me. After all, I was a 30-something-year-old wife and mother, not a 16-year-old supermodel. I thought only young girls developed eating disorders.
During my initial visit, I felt a calm that I had not experienced in a long time. I learned that eating disorders have little to do with food.
I had convinced myself that there were only two kinds of food: good and bad. Food was an enemy you could beat.
I only had to be strong and smart enough to play the game. Once I learned my thinking was totally convoluted, my total recovery began to happen.
After a series of medical tests, a number of doctors offered educated opinions on what the best treatment would be to restore my physical health. The doctors wanted to proceed cautiously, so a target date was set. If my body was not responding by then, medication would be necessary.
But God had something different in mind. His plan allowed me to see the power and depth of His love. He restored my health immediately.
The hand of my Redeemer healed me, overruling the plans of the doctors. He gave back to me the treasure of my health one week before my treatments were scheduled to start.
It’s hard to believe that I went from being totally broken to being healed both mentally and spiritually in an instant. Thanks to our gracious God, I was healed and restored, and there was never a need for any medication or treatment.
God’s mercy and faithfulness now fill the void in my heart that I had lived with for so long. He showed me the way out of my situation by being the good shepherd.
My husband and I have restored our relationships to each other and to God. Thankfully, I was released before it was too late. Praise God who keeps His Word!
