I found this picture recently.
My dad took it at Kurt's and my rehearsal dinner the night before our wedding.
Little did Kurt and I know the storm brewing on the horizon.
When we were dating, I had shared with him that I had a "food problem;" but back in the early 1980's, there was little information about food addiction or eating disorders.
He shrugged it off by reassuring me, "It's no big deal. Everyone eats an extra piece of cake now and then."
Being in denial of the severity of the problem myself, I wholeheartedly agreed with him.
Even though I had gained back the healthy weight I had lost due to severely restricting calories in high school, I still had many unresolved issues percolating underneath the surface of my smile.
I'm all for professional counseling—I've received years of therapy.
However, without the power of God in my life, I would've destroyed myself by now.
In my 40's, I was sitting on a ticking bomb for a stroke or heart attack. I had already developed diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypertension, arthritis—and I had debilitating bouts of bronchitis every winter. I had also become increasingly immobile; feeling more like an elderly person than middle age.
Food addiction is a challenging addiction for many people to overcome; but when it's combined with an eating disorder on top of it. . . it's nearly impossible to have the endurance it takes to overcome the suffocating darkness. (Not to mention, add a son’s completed suicide to the mix too!)
Jesus has delivered me from the darkness; there's no doubt about it.
In my book, I shared some Bible verses that have helped me overcome both the addiction and the disorder; and critics complained.
But the criticism doesn't bother me one bit, because Jesus has given me—and continues to give me--the power to overcome both each day!
I would’ve destroyed my life by now without that power!
Emily Boller, artist, mother, and author of Starved to Obesity, lost 100 pounds more than twelve years ago by eating an abundance of high-nutrient, plant-rich food. Today, she’s certified in whole plant food nutrition from the Nutritarian Education Institute. She’s on a mission to combine practical, no-nonsense and cost-effective tips—with easy to understand science—in order to help anyone escape the addictive grip of the Standard American Diet.