I am blessed to be able to share with you a little of my story. Where to start or what to share and which part has been difficult to decide, until I asked my husband this morning THE question. “Honey, have you seen any changes in me, and if so what changes are they?” His response blew me away. You see, one who has been at the bottom of the hole like myself doesn’t necessarily remember the details of the hole or even how she was acting at the time she was at the bottom.  Not like the ones who love her see it. His response, “You are a totally different person. You are the wife I dreamed of even in my childhood. When we married, you were a complete mess.” And it is so true. I was a complete mess of insecurity, depression, mood swings, temper flairs, fear of all kinds, strongly disliked crowds and people in general, critical, and even down right hateful. He would come home from work and find me in a corner crying from fear and anxiety attacks. I was truly a mess.

What has made such a radical difference in my life? Again, I wish that question was easy, but it isn’t. I wish I could say it was all prayer, but (gasp) it wasn’t. I wish I could say it was just me quoting a verse, but it wasn’t. I wish I could say it was just determination to change, but that failed me, too, repeatedly. Most of the time I blamed myself for not worshipping enough or having enough faith or blaming God Himself. Oh my, I had no clue how to begin to dig my way out of this well. So, I complained and griped and wore the victim mentality like a pro. It was everyone else’s fault, and if God wanted me to change He would have to do the work. And why can’t I just get a miracle? Everyone else does? And why can’t God just allow me to lose weight? Do you hear the blame? Do you hear the fear? Do you hear the lack of responsibility?

Let’s step back even further to see if we can begin to unwind this intricately woven web. As a child, I was the pickiest of eaters. My diet consisted of pop-tarts, bologna sandwiches, almost anything fried, and, of course, McDonalds. It only worsened as I grew older. I suffered from migraines, fibroid tumors, appendicitis, candida overgrowth, depression, mood swings, anger issues, lack of energy and strength, low self-esteem, and hopelessness. WOW! That only touches the surface.

I married my wonderful husband, moved out of the south where all food was battered and fried or cooked to mush to beautiful, sunny Southern Florida where raw food was a lifestyle. I began to hear words such as vegetarianism and veganism. All new concepts to me, because even as a child when I would try to eat the raw veggies picked from the garden, my hand was slapped. My body as a child craved the very thing my elders said wasn’t good for me. Chuckle.

Well, God’s grace intervened and gave me a push in the right direction. I discovered inner healing, emotional healing, and how diet makes an impact on our health, especially mentally and emotionally. There truly is a gut-brain health connection, and my fascination with nutrition birthed from the tears I had cried and the prayers my husband and I had prayed for years. I experimented for 1 year with a raw food diet lifestyle, and then went to vegan. My health improved dramatically. After 40 years of migraines, I had none. After dealing with back pain and chiropractors, I no longer needed their help to rid me of pain. My moods began to even out, and hope begin to show its face once again. This verse came to my heart. 3 John 1:2 NKJV “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” I didn’t fully understand the depth of that verse and all that God wanted to show me until Dr. Mark Virkler and Communion with God found their way into my life via the wonderful world of the internet. I jumped in with both feet, for to me, this ship sailing in the night was God’s answer to my prayer for help and for teaching not just a miracle to solve my problems and a get quick fix solution. God was after my heart and character to handle the gift and healing and anointing He already prepared for me. Now, it was time to fix and mend this wine skin, and that is exactly what I started doing with God. Communion with God, Counseled with God, and Prayers that Healed the Heart were just the courses and ministry I needed for my soul to prosper and be in health.

With my soul healing and moving forward while prospering, I could now focus on my physical health once again. It is such a delicate web, each string playing such an important part. My body had not prospered because my health had not prospered. My emotions had not prospered because my health had not prospered, and my mind was a battlefield. Do you see the intricacies of it all? I can’t separate one from the other for we truly are spirit, soul, and body. It is all amazingly and wonderfully tied together.

This last year God worked that miracle in my heart the miracle I needed that would encourage growth. No, not instant weight loss, but a desire to exercise and once again focus on my eating for life instead of eating for death. It seems overnight that cycling has become my favorite sport. I don’t even know how or when exactly it happened. I went from barely making it up my driveway (in South Florida) to riding 30 miles. My new goal is a 50 mile ride by the end of February. After listening to Dr. Mark’s video series for the last few mornings, my husband and I are once again taking a look at our pantry and refrigerator to throw out non-foods. God has helped me so much, but He hasn’t done it for me. I asked Him why one day. His response, “Because, you would never have seen what you are truly capable of and the strength I have given you. I am after your heart and character. Now, you can begin to see the real you.”

I wish you could hear my heart or see the tears flow down my cheeks. This isn’t some other self-improvement program that you put on a shelf and never use. This is a life changing experience that will awaken the heart of who you are and who God created you to be. We are all destined for greatness. It is time to clear the baggage physically, mentally, and spiritually so we can reach the full potential that God has given to us and thereby fulfilling the dreams He has placed in our hearts. Psalms 139:16 says this, “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Before we were born, God wrote all of our days in a book. Isn’t it time you discover your book? Begin now by learning how to live abundant life healed, healthy, and whole: spirit, soul, and body. 

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