So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31
Getting older is a gift because with the passing of years may come a perspective different from the one held in youth (i.e. 20s and 30s!)
The principle suffering that God sovereignly chose for me (for His purposes and my sanctification) has been that of food addiction and body obsession. All along, had you asked me “What do you want God to do in your life?” I would have unhesitatingly responded: “Free me from thinking about food and my body!” This ONE THING has (and still does to a lesser degree) so filled my conscious daily thoughts since I was 16.
God has not answered THAT prayer, but has lovingly left this pain in my life, all the while teaching me about Himself.
Food, exercise, elimination, fitness, weight, bulimia have all been vehicles of sin, forgiveness, and redemption. And I know that God has/ is not finished with me yet. Here’s an example of a recent blessing:
The other morning I was…exercising and talking to God. My weight was up and I was repenting of my sin of making THAT more important than having awakened another day, belonging to God as His forgiven, redeemed child. I was also feeling constipated. (sorry if this is TMI, but God works through these body conditions!) In sum, I was doing a bit of early morning complaining. When all of a sudden, an unpredictable thought popped into my mind, a truth I now attribute to the Holy Spirit.
- “It doesn’t matter what your body weighs or if you’re constipated, you can still use your body to glorify ME!!”
I found myself spontaneously and joyfully asking Him to forgive me. Suddenly a 3-dimensional spaciousness opened up. Maybe it’s what James calls the “Law of Liberty” (James 1:25, 2:12). From that agreement with Truth, a new realization dawned:
When highlighting, changing or obscuring one’s body is the goal…...
…….then weight gain, body shape, wrinkles, disease, aging, disabilities, homeliness….(you name it)…become the enemies.
But if glorifying God is the goal……
….then it doesn’t matter what kind of body God gives me, or whether I even LIKE the body He has given me, because the body is only a tool (for the Christian) to magnify God and to please Him.
I concluded that morning that I can glorify God even when I weigh X or even when I feel bloated or constipated. And that felt freeing.
My next thought was this: without all the emotional pain and sinning these past 42 years with this particular version of self-obsession, I would NOT be learning how to love God and neighbor as His beloved child.
My conclusion? The most acute source of pain can also be the richest fountain of blessing.
Reflections on God's Word 
Jun 15, 2015 @ 01:05:56
Here’s an oddity…while you explained your thorn being body obsession, it occurred to me that mine might be opposite. That is, I always think I look great and don’t have to do anything and can eat anything I want while lounging on the couch. Lucky for me I’m tall but still…it took my husband to lovingly point out it ain’t the looks so much as it is the health. So for the past 20 years I paid some attention to it while imagining how nice it would be to just be a spirit.
Jun 15, 2015 @ 01:11:14
God does have a sense of humor, doesn’t He! Joe is a blessing to you, because even though he probably married you for your looks and sense of humor, he really does LOVE you enough to be honest and care about your health. God has gifted you with good health and he struggles with health issues. All this circumstances and good gifts (husbands and health and humor) should make us celebrate God and go out and fearlessly tell others about the God who really cares about ALL these details and has a plan for redeeming us in a world where Satan is trying his darndest to distract us with ego-pumping stuff or suffering.
Jun 15, 2015 @ 01:54:03
Joe’s a blessing, and also my then-neighbor who showed up when I was 200 pounds post-baby and said to me while I stood before her in a flannel nightgown and coffee cake crumbs on my chin: “Oh no! Poor Joe has to come home to THAT! My dear, DO SOMETHING!” I was mad for about 2 minutes before I laughed and said, my gosh, you are right! I’m a slob! And do you know not 2 years later I joined a club. (No sense getting a big hurry because I wasn’t ready to give up Breyer’s coffee ice cream.) But she had that effect on me.
Jun 15, 2015 @ 16:37:52
You are a hoot! I love coffee ice cream, too – or I USED to!