Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Christians and Closets

Surgery is tomorrow, Thursday. I have to be at the hospital at 8:30. I had confirmation today that I'm having this surgery in the nick of time. My pre-op blood tests came back and showed I'd moved from borderline diabetic to diabetic. That makes 3 co-morbidities. Lord I am tired of this disease!

It is amazing to me that Christians don't talk about food addiction and obesity. It's not like we can't see it. We may be in the closet about it but our stomach's are sticking right out of the closet for all the world to see. Some of the highest rates of obesity (as well as depression) among women exist in the Bible Belt of the South.

Shame, I'm sure, is the biggest reason we don't talk about it. We confuse food addiction with gluttony. But most of us who are food addicts have been battling it all our lives. We don't want this addiction. Nobody says when they're little, "I wanna be a fat food addict when I grow up." But we continue to eat even when we know its killing us. We stop for a while, lose some weight, and then the cravings and compulsions return more powerful than ever. And shame over our lack of control, shame over what we perceive as a lack of faith, or of obedience to the Word, drives us even deeper into the food.

Pastors don't preach about it because they'd lose some of their very best workers. We, the food addicts, help everyone else as "good" Christians, frequently negating ourselves, and then help ourselves to more food because it makes us feel better. We eat to medicate depression, and in my case, to medicate ADHD as well. It satisfies something in our brains and that enables us to keep functioning and keep from falling apart.

We don't seek medical help for what we now know is a medical condition because somehow that would make us bad Christians. So we stay in our closets and keep our mouths closed.

This blog is my way of coming out of the closet about my food addiction and the terrible toll its taken on me and on my family. Come out of the closet people and lets talk.

I'm a Christian to and my pastor tells me that God made me this way, and he means it in love, I know he does. But I believe most people are just in denial including my own loved ones. Which makes it very hard for me. So anyhow, I have lots of questions if thats Ok? How did you're surgery go, which kind did you have? I'm torn between the lapband, and the sleeve. Don't know much about the sleeve yet. Just praying for Gods direction -I am even considering Mexico for the surgery the more I read it doesn't seem so scary. Any help, advide or input would be appreciated.

I had lapband, the surgery went well. I'm actually copying and posting from my other blog to this blog. If you want a lot of your questions answered, you could go to my original blog. Just click on this link.

IF YOUR STOMACH OFFENDS YOU, TIE IT OFF

We may have been born with a genetic predisposition for over-eating and obesity, but I don't believe God wants us to just accept that and live with it--not when he's provided the surgical means to help us battle this disorder successfully. My grandson was born with mild autism and my daughter does everything to make sure he receives all the help he needs to reprogram his brain so that he can fully function in life.

I'm a Christian also, and my pastor does get onto us "regularly" about overeating. Our bodies are temples. We are to treat them as such. I have abused my body for many, many years with food. The lapband is giving me the tool that I need to get my temple back to where it should be. Actually, my pastor's wife had lapband about a month before I did. I still occassionally have the thoughts of why I couldn't control the eating through prayer, etc. But I am doing what I can now to present my body as a living sacrifice to the Lord each and every day. God Bless!