Only I DID recover from an eating disorder. It was a brutal battle that initially led me further from God, not closer. Fear. Shame. Lies of the enemy. All of the above had me believing that I needed to recover before I could restore my relationship with God. But the exact opposite was true. I needed to reconcile with God before I recovered, for His strength and help and hope to recover.
“I have good news, but you’re not going to like it.” My husband spoke these words after running errands early Saturday morning with one objective in mind: to purchase whatever was necessary to squash our ant infestation.
What is motherhood (and especially the postpartum period) if not a daily, hourly, minute-ly ritual of being a love offering? If you’ve been in the difficult but fortunate situation of caring for a new human, you might remember the sacrifice well. If you’ve been there but don’t remember–because the passage of time has wiped your memory in favor of the warm fuzzy newborn cuddles–allow me to remind you: it’s hard. It’s tiring. It’s impossible.
Abide in me. Abide in me. Abide in me. In two verses, Jesus repeated this idea three times. What does he mean by abide? According to the dictionary, abide means to remain, continue, or stay. It is a way to describe where one’s abode, dwelling, or residence is. It describes the idea of continuing in a particular condition, attitude, or relationship. To abide in Jesus means to stay with him, to remain close to him, to make him your place of residence and dwelling. This is Jesus’ recipe for a fruitful and productive life: Stay close to me.
Our thoughts dictate who we become. I believe God knew the true power of our thoughts, because why else would He tell us to hold every thought captive (2 Cor. 10:5)? The mind is where everything starts. Seeds of doubt, lies, and fear are first established in the mind. Then they exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.