Doing Harm vs. Doing Hard Things With Your Body

"Good Christians don’t struggle with their weight." These words were said to me by my friend, who has battled obesity her whole life after a childhood full of neglect and abuse by her mother. Going days and sometimes weeks without food as a little girl, the feeling of hunger sends her body into panic.

Now, when she overeats, she approaches God in fear of punishment the same way she used to do with her mother – by begging Him for forgiveness.  My friend’s story has deeply affected her body.  But it’s the belief that she needs to lose weight in order to prove her love for God that is keeping her trapped in traumatic cycles of demand, panic, and apathy.

The past trauma my friend endured has distorted her view of God’s character. Underneath her desperate cry for forgiveness is a little girl asking, “Is God’s love strong, kind, and patient enough to redeem the harm my mother did to my body and the harm I’m doing to my body as a result? Could I be set free from the hunger pains of shame?”

God’s desire is not to help my friend lose weight, but to heal the story that caused her to self-protect with food in the first place. There is no snapping of a supernatural finger to melt the excess weight off her body. This journey to freedom will force my friend to willingly endure immense emotional and physical pain with God to transform the embedded fear in her body with His love.

As the Apostle Paul said, “Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me… Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

(Romans 7:21-25)

Join us June 13, 2024 in our Cohort community with special guest, Christy Angelle Bauman, as we discuss how our body maps the story of your lives using storytelling, body maps, timelines, and rituals. The words we say to ourselves when we see our reflection in the mirror will show us how healthy we are as body-keepers. How do the parts of your body tell what it has been like to be on your body? Let’s discover the answer together.

Missed the live training? No worries, with your cohort membership you have access to all the recorded trainings. View them in your Freedom Cohort Library! 

- Tori & The Freedom Movement Team