2 Corinthians 4:8-9
We are afflicted in
every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted,
but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.
I’ve always grown up in a family where your private issues
were just that…private. You didn’t blab them to everybody you could find. If
you needed help, you went to someone in the family and asked for prayer and
support, you didn’t make it public knowledge. Rarely do I share my struggles
with people unless I feel my struggles will help them come to a deeper
relationship with God.
I have been struggling with my self-image for about 7 months
now. I have always been small and never had to worry about what I ate in order
to stay that way. Back in March of this year (2016) I had a health issue catch
up with me. A misdiagnoses caused me to have greater issues with what was
actually wrong with me. I gained 40 pounds in two months due to this health
issue. None of my clothes fit, I was having to wear my husband’s clothes just
to be able to go out of the house. Dieting and working out were barely budging
my weight or my current circumstances. I have felt defeated, so very defeated.
I didn’t want to leave the house or see people I knew because I didn’t want
anybody to see me in the state I was in. I didn’t want to be judged or treated
differently. My close friends and family kept telling me that I was pretty and
that I shouldn’t feel that way
. No dip, I know I shouldn’t feel that way but I did
and I do. The worst thing you can say to somebody is that they should knock it
off. When somebody is truly going through something that is emotionally and
psychologically heavy, don’t tell them to knock it off. They don’t want to be
feeling the way they are. They hate the feeling and just need somebody to say, “I
understand. I will be here to support you the entire way.” Acknowledging the
issue and being honest about the circumstances is the best way to level with
someone and show them you’re at their level. I hate it when people go on and on about how I'm totally not overweight or state similar phrases. Trying to dismiss the obvious only makes it harder.
For me, being overweight and being unable to quickly fix it
is very difficult. It weighs on me every day and tears roll down my face as I work
out because I just hurt but if I don’t push through the hurt, my circumstances
will never change. So, I suppose there are two things that God is teaching me
through this. Don’t dismiss what someone is feeling or going through even if it
doesn’t seem big to us. Further, when God is working in our lives, it’s not
always going to be sunshine and roses. Sometimes it hurts and only if we push
through that hurt will we see the reward at the end. A lot of things hurt in
life but a lot of us are better for those hurts in the end. Let God carry you
through your hurt and it’s ok to actually acknowledge the hurt is there and
weighing on you, just don’t let it make you quit. Never quit because then you’re
not only giving up on yourself but you’re giving up on God.
Job 23:10
But He knows the way I
take; When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
