It was a girls shopping trip kind of day! I was in junior high. We were eating lunch at Texas Road house which felt super fancy when you come from a family of six. One member of the party refused to eat the rolls, as she was watching her figure. Mind you she was about a size 4, or something super tiny. She wouldn't put the dressing on her salad because dipping the lettuce into the dressing cup meant she was going to consume less calories.
The other people at the table praised her. I heard the conversation turn into talking about others and the size of their waste line. It was a comparison of size to worthiness.
It stuck on my heart like hot glue, I felt the burn. Having a super small body was a praise worthy thing. It was a thing of value. If you were fit then you had worth. My brain also made the connection, no matter how wrong it was, if you were not slim and trim you didn't have value.
Freedom comes when we stop beating ourselves up from missing the mark and start getting curious about why. The story above, I have used to self-sabotage way too many times.
Except, I went the opposite way. Can they still love me even if I am not the size they want me to be? I'm not a size 2 so I might as well enjoy the rolls, right. It's only praise worthy when I'm making big leaps to change my body shape.
I had to run to the Father and ask for forgiveness. I was not looking to Him for my value. I was dismissing His love and looking to see what man (or in this case women) valued. I was not caring for my temple well.
We are doing heart work here, which will get you WAY further than any meal plan out there you can find. Now, it's your turn.
What has been a struggle for you on this journey? When was a time that you saw other people mistreat you for your size?
Come hang out with us in the Create Your Dream Life Group the home of the #dessert for breakfast revolution is housed! Check out the cooking show there on Saturday's at 10:00 am Eastern Standard Time.
Have you ever made a commitment to a goal only to feel disgusted with yourself when you dropped the ball? We are going to go on a little journey of recommitting. We are going to clear the slate and walk in healing. Buckle up here we go.
Step One: Understanding why we feel guilt and shame.
Matthew 5:37 Tells us to let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ be ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one." Yikes this one stomps on my toes. Whatever is more than my yes or my no is from the evil one! Well, I am going to rejoice in the fact that I am about to grow a whole lot here.
When we don't stick to our commitments we have made, to ourselves or to others feel bad because we said we were going to do something and yet we didn’t. The scriptures tell us to let our Yes be a yes when making a commitment. Our no also needs to be no. What if you got to a place where you set yourself up to succeed by setting healthy boundaries around your yes and around your no.
Excellence breeds motivation and inspiration. When we set our hearts out to do something, we set our heart with accomplishing the task with excellence. However, when we don’t operate from the "let your yes be yes and let your no be no" then we self-sabotage our own commitments before we even get started. It’s a set up for failure. Often we are even unaware of our self-sabotage from the very beginning with a commitment that was too big to keep.
Step Two: Confession
James 5:16 "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
We are using the strategy of saying “I messed up here, when I made a commitment that I didn't keep.” Owning our own crap will lead us to a place of healing.
Remember that Romans 8:1-2 states "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death."
You are not condemned when bringing your misstep to the table. The spirit gives life and has set you free!
So, your confession of how you didn’t show up when you said you were going to is only going to bring healing when you share with someone that is a safe place.
Step 3: Release yourself
This is where forgiveness is key to your success. Literally get a piece of paper and write out a statement of forgiveness. Here is one that I use. “I forgive you Megan for not sticking to your commitment. I release you from your mistake. I bless you. You owe me nothing. You are free to make a new commitment and shine at it!"
This is the solid foundation for setting yourself free from condemnation, guilt, and shame. We are wiping the slate clean here! Behold He is making all things new!
Come hang out with us in the Create Your Dream Life Group the home of the #dessert for breakfast revolution is housed!
