Inspirational Testimony?

I had yet another profound moment this past week on this long weight loss journey of mine. I was catching up with my mom over the phone Friday night (yeah, I have no life - sorry Mom - hehe), and keep in mind that I just flew home to visit her, my step-dad, and my brother a couple weeks ago. And I had lost at least 25 lbs since the last time they saw me. Anyway, last Friday night, my mom informed me that she had asked for prayer for me and my struggles with my weight in a prayer group at church last fall (back when I was still binging while my husband was away for months at a Naval school). They were told to get in small groups of three for prayer, so it happened that my parents were paired with a man who had been struggling with his faith. And they asked him to pray for me.

Fast forward to when I went home a couple weeks ago, and I went to church with my parents. I didn't know it at the time, but I was introduced to this man who had been praying for me. My mom later told him that I was the one they had requested prayer for and explained how I used to weigh over 255 lbs, to which he responded, "I was gonna say, I was starting to think you had a different definition of 'overweight'!". Point is, it was a revelation to me that someone was praying for me. I consider myself to be a rather spiritual person, and yet it had never occurred to me pray for help with my weight problems. I've NEVER prayed about it. And it didn't take me long to figure out why: the guilt. I've always felt like if I wanted it badly enough, I could lose the weight. I was a fat slob because of my own doing. So why pray about it if it was my fault to begin with? I should've known better. I see now that it's no coincidence that shortly after my mom asked for prayer that I somehow managed to get back on track. And now, hopefully this man who was struggling with his faith can see that God is really listening! The whole story just makes me feel like I have a higher purpose in this process. It feels like I'm letting more than just myself down if I get sidetracked now..... but it's an awesome feeling.

The other bit of news from my mom is the effect I had on my brother. I wrote about his own lifelong battle with his weight earlier, and how he had gained at least 50 lbs since the last time I had seen him 6 months ago, and how he appears to suffer from the same binge-eating tendencies that I do. Well, while at my parents' house, my brother hugged me and told me how great I looked, referring to my weight loss. It felt really good, and it was so unexpected, given our rather rocky relationship. And now, according to my mom, he appears to be trying to eat well and exercise again. Hallelujah! It feels so good knowing that I might have been the catalyst that got my brother to wake up and realize that he was headed down a dangerous path with his health. Thank you, Lord!!