“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” – Psalm 139:14
Sarah had a chaotic home life. Her parents divorced when she was young and her mom always seemed to find a new man each week.
Sarah dealt with these changes by eating. Food was the one constant in her life that never forgot her or belittled her. But her eating habits took a toll on her body and Sarah was bullied in middle school for her weight.
So, she decided to do whatever it took to lose weight. She started by watching her calorie intake but it quickly became an obsession. How few calories could she eat while still allowing her body to function normally?
It wasn’t until Sarah’s mom found her web history filled with anorexia websites that she realized Sarah needed help. She immediately got her daughter an appointment with a therapist who specialized in eating disorders.
At first, Sarah went to the sessions and didn’t answer the therapist’s questions. Instead, they played board games and puzzles. But slowly, she opened up to the older woman, sharing her pain and the questions that plagued her. “Why am I like this?” She asked.
The counselor handed Sarah a mirror. “Do you see yourself clearly?” She asked.
Sarah nodded and the counselor handed her a second mirror that was broken. “How about now?”
“I look distorted.”
The counselor nodded. “Eating disorders can distort what you see in the mirror. You’re still you but the mirror you’ve been using is broken. I can help you if you’ll let me.”
I remember when I was a new christian I had a daily mantra “I’m a child of God and I belong to Him…I am loved by God and nothing can separate me from Him…I am chosen by God… I am forgiven and my sin debt is paid! I am strengthened for all the tasks to which God has called me… AND THE HOLY SPIRIT IS WITH ME.”
Boy, that really got things started for the day. I did not have to wonder how the day was going to go, I would now decide “TODAY IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE, I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT!”
The Blood of Jesus does something to free a person from the broken glass they see themselves through, it sets you free.
Yet, we can still decide to tear ourselves down, question ourselves and God because of mindsets and activities that are simply unhealthy habits. But Habits nonetheless. The final statement the counselor made holds the key to go from simply reflecting on yourself today and making a change “I can help you if you let me.”
We must as the saying goes “Let go and let God” Psalm 34:4 says “I sought the Lord and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.”
It is Jesus the Wonderful Counselor, Might God, Holy One, Emmanuel (as we all sang last month at Christmas time) who can help us if we let Him. Only He can show us the most clear image of who we really are. It’s not a pep talk, it’s not a mirror, it’s not even a counselor alone that has the answers, we must sit with Jesus and pray and truly ask Him to remove the distortions and reveal our true identity in Christ Jesus.
2 Corinthians 5:21 “God made Him who had no sin to become sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”
God, sometimes, there are things in my life that distort the way I see myself. Please show me clearly who I am, help me to understand that I’m Your child, fearfully and wonderfully made. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
