JOY Stories
Ellen
Set free
You know the feeling you get when you come inside after a long day by the pool or at the beach? You just feel zapped by the sun. Maybe you go for a shower or take a nap and afterwards you feel rejuvenated and ready for a delicious summer dinner? Well, I felt like I was finally coming inside after being zapped for two long years.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” God wanted to set me free from an eating disorder that had been zapping me.
My name is Ellen Patterson, and by the grace of God, I am almost a year and a half recovered from an eating disorder. I was diagnosed my sophomore year of high school. I wanted so badly to be on the varsity cross country team and I thought that meant I needed to be tall and skinny. While I was stuck in a season of waiting in hopes that one day my body would be “good enough,” the Lord was teaching me that I never have to be "good enough" because He paid the price on the cross once and for all. He was reminding me that my body is a temple.
There was never just one single moment that the Lord plainly opened my eyes. My recovery was more of a slow process in which the Lord kept using people in my life to nudge me towards Himself and freedom. I am thankful that now I get to experience freedom living in this life knowing that everyday is a gift. Occasionally I do start to listen to the lies again, but if I take a second and step away to truly appreciate all that the Lord has brought me through. What a blessing it is the know that we serve such a faithful God.
Next time you come in from a hot day at the pool, eat your delicious summer dinner knowing that food is not meant to harm you or tear you down, but to fill you up! Food is meant to nurture this body that the Lord so graciously gave to us to magnify His name.
As a form of counseling, I started writing my story down. Eventually I became interested in sharing my story in the form of a book.If you want to read more about God’s grace and learn more about nutrition, find my book “Eat the Cake” on Amazon.
Photos for Ellen
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