Freedom from Food: The Beginning

The beginning is a very good place to start! I guess the true beginning is somewhere back in my childhood as early as 10 or 11. But this is a NEW beginning! Praise God He grants those as many times as we need them! I went to a Beth Moore Live event this weekend. It was a simulcast, so many of you may have "been" there too! Every nugget of truth I took from Beth said, God would apply to this issue in my life.

I am a food addict.

Took me years to figure that out and a few more years to admit it to anyone else! But here's the deal, God wants to heal me. He wants to free me from this addiction. He doesn't want me to walk in bondage to food any longer. Being addicted to food is no different than being addicted to alcohol, drugs, porn or any of the other "big" sins (let me clarify here - I know there is no "big" sin....just talking about how society views sin in levels....NOT God!). Food addiction just won't get you arrested and you can't stop cold turkey ~ and you wear food addiction for the world to see like a big scarlet A hanging around your neck.

Food addiction keeps me in just as much spiritual bondage, shame and sin as any of those other addictions would. Food has a place in my heart that belongs to God. I have been set free from my food addiction a couple of times in my life, I truly believe. Food lost its draw. But just like a prison cell door that has been opened, you have to walk through it and out of the prison to be free! And to remain in freedom, you can't turn around and walk right back into that cell because it was what you knew or maybe even more comfortable. I think of my dogs and how they want in their kennel at night when its time to go to bed. They are actually asking to be locked up...why? Because it feels safe to them. And so it is with us many times with the prison cells we have been locked in for years.

But we are deceived! Being in the clutches of the enemy is never safe! The only safety can be found in walking in obedience and relationship with Jesus!

So why blog about this? Well, I asked myself the same question when I was sitting in the seat in the auditorium and felt God saying to get serious and take others with me via my blog. Really, God? Blog about this? Blog about something I don't want to admit to myself, much less all the people who read my blog? And God's answer, why wouldn't you? I quickly reminded him of all the hurtful comments I have gotten over the years on my blog about issues way less personal to me than this one! But God knew in my heart of hearts that my life's desire is to help women to be in close relationship with God and see them mature spiritually. I really have nothing to offer...I'm no Beth Moore! I don't have the amazing knowledge of the Bible that she does..I have a hard time memorizing a single scripture. But I do have a story. I have a story of how God is telling me to get free. I have a story of how many times I have failed to do that. I have a story that is tattered with the wounds brought on by this particular battle in my life. I have a story filled with fear that my story won't have a different ending this time! And God said, share your story!

And that is why I'm sharing! I'm hoping God is asking me to do that because someone else is struggling with this same issue or a similar one, and you need someone to walk with you or to just read words that let you know you're not alone! I'll tell you, my biggest fear with sharing this is I have never really welcomed accountability in this area of my life. I kind of like to handle it on my own so if it doesn't work out I can just pretend I never tried, never heard God say anything about it. Well, the cat's out of the bag! And now, I have just a few accountability partners out there who will be watching me...even if I quit blogging, it wont be hard to SEE if I'm walking in freedom or bondage!

If you are struggling with an addiction - any addiction - and are ready to walk in freedom, let's go! Slip on some boots (I'm from Texas, remember!), and let's start walking! I've got my arm bent with my elbow out ready to link up with you - let's walk out of these prison cells ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!!

I will label all of my posts about this struggle with "Freedom from Food" so you can always find them if you click on that label on the side of my blog. If you are going to walk with me, please comment! You don't have to share what your addiction is, but I would love to know someone has linked arms with me and is walking this way too? If you are my Facebook friend, will you comment on the blog instead of Facebook so that those who are not on Facebook can know you are walking with them too? If you don't have a blog and Facebook is the only way you can comment, then go for it! At least I'll know I'm not walking this alone!

Let's go gals! As we say in Texas, these boots were made for walking!!!