Two years ago, our Women, Weight and God group began with the inspiration to help other Christian women (like ourselves) find some sanity and clarity in their day-to-day struggle with self-image, especially as that image relates to their weight.
My partner and I had been in recovery for various life-problems for many years, however, we felt that for most women in our church going to the usual “recovery groups” was too big a stretch. Our idea was to discuss issues of the heart, not to focus on a specific method of weight loss. We didn’t have a curriculum, so we made our own outlines; we felt that through our own Bible study and prayer, the Lord would lead us through His spirit. And He has!
We’ve read through two books now, both related to Christian principles of weight loss. Our group opens weekly with prayer, and realizing that many women haven’t taken the time to do “homework”, each woman reads a paragraph or two. We stop during the reading to discuss pertinent points and sometimes, that leads into a long group heart-to-heart. We have never maintained a strict timetable for completing the books, as some subjects touch us more deeply than others. The women have bonded, and we’ve marveled at much personal growth within each of the participants.
There has been a core group of about 7 or 8 women who have been with the group nearly the entire time. We’ve experimented with having a optional weigh-ins, taking time out every few weeks for a girls night out; we’ve done a makeover, movie night and a food drive (bringing items equivalent to the previous week’s weight loss and donating the food to the local food bank).
As we embark on the next phase of our journey, Dawn and I have determined that the women all know how to lose weight! Collectively, I’ll venture to say we’ve tried nearly every method (although no one is stating they’ve had the lap-band intervention, or gastric bypass surgery — YET). Now it’s time to get down to the real reasons WHY we use food as a panacea. The last two books covered background and spiritual principles of weight loss. Now we’ve felt the gentle nudging of the Spirit to take the group into some real soul searching for the next season. We’re very excited to begin the study: Healed Without Scars, by David G. Evans, using both the book and workbook.
One thing both Dawn and I agree on, is that our paths individually have been a journey, not a destination. We’ve noticed in our own recovery that God usually leads us down a particular path, where we rest in His arms content for a time. Then, inevitably comes a time we’ve wandered from contentment to complacency in our journey, and He begins to move us down the next road. We’ve observed our new road may wind us back around to cross over places we’ve just been! However, our Heavenly Father knows our individual destinations, and we trust that if He feels we need to revisit something, we willingly return to find the treasure He has yet for us to discover.
Our prayer for WWG in this new journey, is for each woman to allow God to move her from the rut of complacency and further down the road of contentment. He wants us to be conformed to His image, and is skillful to mold us and shape us into His likeness – to be healed without scars from our past.
In the next few weeks, I’ll be posting some pertinent thoughts related to the questions and discussions we’re having in our weekly groups. As always, we welcome you to come along with us. The prayer for the women of Women, Weight and God is extended to you – to begin on your journey of being healed without scars from your past – and closer to the One who loves you!
