Freedom from Eating Disorders (Laurie Glass)

Freedom from Eating Disorders

Dear readers,

I often refer you to God-honoring, biblical books or online resources to help you in your walk of repentance away from anorexia or bulimia, and today I would like to feature one such ministry. Laurie Glass, who I met online, is a sister in the Lord who also ministers to Christian women struggling to leave their disordered eating patterns behind. Laurie has an excellent website "Freedom from Eating Disorders" which has many links, articles, and helpful resources.

This morning's post (actually, I don't know when it was written but she shared the link on Facebook this morning) is an excellent exercise in renewing your mind and seeing this life-dominating sin for what it really is - an enemy. "Your Eating Disorder - Friend or Foe?" demonstrates Scripturally how when we choose to believe the lies that ensnare us in addictive behavior, the addiction to food and "weight-idolatry" takes center stage in our lives. Where is the Lover of our soul in the picture? Lie #6 rung especially true to me, as I remember my life a decade ago: "This enemy causes us to doubt God’s love for us. It makes us feel so ashamed before Him that we are too uncomfortable to even pray in regard to the eating disorder."

Oh yes, my sisters. Make no mistake about it: shame in a powerful weapon in Satan's arsenal.

Included on her site is Laurie's own testimony, as well as that of others; helpful Scriptures, and links to Christian counseling resources. I encourage you to check out some of the great articles she has posted, as well.

"Inappropriate Content and Irrelevancy"

Some months ago, when I first started this blog, I submitted the listing to the "Something Fishy" eating disorder treatment finder site to include in their directory (under Christian Counseling). "Something Fishy" is probably one of the biggest and most comprehensive sites on the web for eating disorder resources.

So much time has gone by, and I have been so busy keeping up with the correspondence this blog has generated, that I had forgotten all about it. Well, a few minutes ago, I received the following e-mail, generated from a "noreply" address:

Hello Marie,

I'm sorry, your listing content was not approved.

Listing ID: 2812
Listing Title: Redeemed From the Pit of Bulimia

Possible reasons:
- Inappropriate content
- Duplicate listing
- Irrelevancy

Thank You,
Something-fishy.org

Well, it's definitely not a duplicate listing, as no one else has submitted a blog entitled "Redeemed from the Pit of Bulimia". Which causes me to closely analyze the other possible reasons for rejection:

Irrelevancy

Hmm. Interesting charge. Let's see...I write about bulimia, repentance from bulimia, practical considerations in abstaining from bulimia, the spiritual causes and effects of bulimia, the process of restoration from bulimia, effective Christian counseling options for bulimics, and other aspects of bulimia and how to leave it behind. Yup. Really irrelevant for an eating disorder directory.

Inappropriate content

Huh. That one had me scratching my fundie conservative evangelical head, so just for giggles I ran my blog's url through the "What's My Blog Rated?" site. I present to you the family-friendly results:

This rating was determined based on the presence of the following words:

• pain (2x)
• hell (1x)

NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! I mentioned PAIN and upheld the doctrine of an eternal HELL!!!!!! Oh wait....that's right; the Lord Jesus Christ did, too. In fact, according to my Bible (the most widely-read book in the world, BTW), He spoke more about the reality of hell than He did of heaven.

Sobering stuff.

Or maybe they deemed my blog "inappropriate" because I'm a snake-oil peddler?? I'll bet that's it! Mention "spirituality" and people are cool with it - no matter that it may be paganism, shamanism, or a deck of tarot cards you're endorsing. Mention the King of Kings, the Lord Jesus Christ, and people start to get weird.

We Christians are subversive folks. We love others enough to want them to know real and lasting joy, and we have the audacity to say there is life and hope only in Jesus Christ. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life, and if He is Lord of YOUR life, He is Lord over this addiction.

That is the truth, and you may choose to walk in it. If proclaiming it makes my ministry "irrelevant and inappropriate", so be it. I care for and pray for each one of you, and His love is greater than any you will ever know.

He Makes All Things New

I just discovered, by checking links on the Site Meter, that this blog is in the top position of Google search results for "Christian bulimic ministry". It is also in the number one spot for the keywords "Jesus heals eating disorders" and "bulimia Christian".

This is...humbling. It both amazes and humbles me. I am awed and amazed that God would not only FORGIVE me, but that He would then use my testimony for fruitful ministry to His other daughters who are still struggling. This is what is meant by the title, "Redeemed from the Pit".

At the same time, I am humbled and even a bit nervous - having any sort of ministry platform is a huge responsibility. I am now accountable before God for everything I write, and the counsel I give His daughters. This is why I am so thankful that Martha Peace called my attention to a subtle, yet critical error in my theology a few months back. Being able to edit the chapter in question before the book goes to print will no doubt save me much regret and anxiety, knowing I could have mislead someone with my words.

To the reader who googled "Does God forgive eating disorders?" the answer is YES, my friend. YES, He does...and so much more. In the words of Steven Curtis Chapman, "He renews and He transforms, He redeems and restores - He makes all things new...."