Walking toward recovery can be hard on the heart. On the outside, I appeared just like everyone else, going through my day without a second thought. On the inside, it was a completely different story; there was a war being fought- I’m dodging lies, taking thoughts captive, praying, confessing, fighting shame, clinging to truth, and fighting just to stand up and smile. It was exhausting- mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. It was challenging work, and each day was more of the same. It can be hard on a heart.

But God, in compassion, never leaves us to walk in the darkness alone.

He was there, fighting right beside me, fighting for me. Every once in a while, He would give me a glimpse of His grace, a tiny peek into what food freedom felt like. It was just enough for me to pick up my battered heart and fight one more day.

I want to share that story, in case you, like me, need the courage to take one more step and fight one more lie.

It was a day just like any other day. I had pl...

Shame is like a smothering cocoon; it seems "safe", and it's not. The only way you can emerge from it is to invite someone else into the space so they can help you break the seal. It shines light into where there was only darkness. And once there is a pinhole from sharing (or confessing, which I honestly believe is a deeper, more intimate action), true healing and transformation can result.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.” -Isaiah 9:2 NIV

I discovered this when I told my husband, after 28 years of marriage, and 32 years of knowing each other, about my past struggles with food & body image. And by making that choice, in 2011, to invite him into that dark, what I thought, ugly space, our relationship deepened and there was more intimacy in our emotional relationship and in our marriage.

I recently lost a friend to an eating disorder. She regularly talked about the guilt & shame she felt over w...