Well, I have still been really struggling with the eating and/or obsessive thoughts about it. As usual, I seem to have forgotten that I can’t do it on my own. On Sunday there was a good message at church about “living a transformed life” My church is called Living Springs and I just love the pastor who openly “borrows” concepts from other leaders to enrich his own points. On Sunday he spoke about an acronym he’d gleaned from another source (I believe it’s the blog I cited below) to help us get to the transformation we long for. The acronym is “VIM” which stands for Vision, Intention and Means.
“Vision” is what it sounds like, a mental image of what we want. “Intention” is making the decision to take the action/s to get where we want to go. “Means” is the toolbox we use to accomplish our goals. So, in my scenario the vision is to have a healthy body. The intention is to consistently make the right decisions to get there, to maintain the resolve to eat right and exercise. The toolbox for me is the weight watchers program and the twelve steps from overeaters anonymous.
The pastor further encouraged to “run and not grow weary.” Using our time on this earth wisely enables us to achieve God’s perfect vision for our lives. Then we can look forward to the time when he will say “Welcome my good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest.” It’s not that we work to “earn” our salvation. We do it for love. God loves us and freely gives us the promise of eternal life. The least we can do is use this life for him.
I found inspiration from the pastor’s message. I hate to sound so “churchy” and “preachy.” It’s not my style. I feel like I’m still really rough around the edges and certainly don’t consider myself a “messenger from God.” I still have trouble even referring to him/her/it that way. I still prefer “Higher Power…”
Anyway, I digress. My point is that I have been blessed in my life and do feel that something greater than me should be thanked for the protection and support I’ve been privileged to experience in my life.
When I was drinking I would escape into a bottle of wine. Of course, that didn’t solve any problems and usually left me with a headache and/or some questions about where I was, what I was wearing and who all I’d started fights with. My husband was generally at the top of that list! Now, by the grace of God, I have been able to conquer my drinking problem. I truly feel that my higher power took away cravings and made that struggle far easier for me than it could have been.
However, the eating is a different story…. I think this is my primary addiction – although shopping is coming in at a close second lately – yikes! At least when I’m broke and can’t buy food I’ll have saddle bags to see my through! Haha!
Seriously though, this is a very painful struggle for me and the most embarrassing part of having an eating issue is that it’s very public. Everyone can see “my sins” in the way my clothes fit – or don’t!
I’m now requesting prayer to get me through this! Weighing in at 215 on a 5′2″ frame, I have 80 pounds to lose to achieve a healthy weight. I want to be a good mother and teach my children to be healthy in this regard. I want to be more attractive for my husband. I want to prove to myself that I can do this and yes, I do believe that there is a higher power who created me in his image and likeness and while he loves me as I am, he is sad for me that I’m not “my best self.”
I have lots to motivate me. I have a vision of myself at my goal weight running a marathon wearing a “ten gallon hat” made of ten empty milk jugs. A gallon of milk weighs a little over 8 pounds. So ten milk jugs would be equivalent to the 80 pounds I want to lose… It’s amazing to think I’m carrying all that extra around every day! Anyway, I have the vision, the intention and the means. I have the “VIM” now I just need the vigor!
CB 
Relevant Links:
http://www.livingspringscc.org/
http://www.risenmagazine.com/blog/matters-heart-pt-two
http://www.weightwatchers.com/index.aspx
The Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous
- We admitted we were powerless over food — that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
- Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
- Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
