Lysa Terkeurst was the main speaker at the Bridging the Gap Spring Conference. I had been really excited to hear her speak, because I had just finished reading her book “Unglued.” I could totally relate to the topic, and I loved her writing style.
What I didn’t realize she would talk about is one of her other books, “Made to Crave.” I admittedly have a problem with food and thus intentionally found work to do in the hallway during her entire session on said book.
I was not ready at that time to deal with my problem. I had a lot going on, and a ton of stress in every area of my life.
As spring started to wind down and summer started to wind up I found Lysa’s book on sale for dirt cheap. I took it as a sign and quickly downloaded it.
Once again I fell in love with her writing style, and was convicted by her words.
What I didn’t realize was that I was replacing my trust in God with a reliance on food to make me feel happy and secure.
Ouch.
See, I was brought up with an unhealthy reliance on food.
When you are sad you eat,
…happy you eat,
…lonely you eat,
…to celebrate you eat,
…angry you eat,
…bored you eat,
and on and on and on.
All of those feelings deserve recognition, but almost none of them require copious amounts of ice cream, potato chips, and chocolate.
I’ve been spending the summer trying my darndest to get my brain wrapped around this whole idea. One line that Lysa uses is, “we were made for more than this.”
I have to admit some days that I’ve really rocked this idea right out of the park, but those days were often followed by my gorging on unhealthy treats.
But I had to give myself grace. At least there were sporadically placed days where I was making correct choices, as opposed to my previous life of what could have easily been confused for that of a teenage boy.
To increase my good versus bad days, I had to make some shifts in my thinking. I needed more water (who doesn’t?) and less junk.
I started carrying around my water bottle again (we play a nice game of yo-yo), and I have been trying to drink the recommended eight glasses of water a day.
For me, eating less junk is directly tied to buying less junk. Sure, those endcaps at Target with their holiday themed treats look amazing on the shelf, but I’m fairly certain I won’t like how they look on my gut.
This has been more difficult for me though. Having kids and doing a lot of picnics and outings usually requires at least some amount of special snacks. The trick for me has been to buy them snacks that I know they will love, and I will hate. I may crumble under extreme stress, but in the day-to-day I will have no problem avoiding their store brand fruit snacks and packaged cookies.
So, when I’ve gotten to the end of the day with all children alive and in bed, and there is a pile of leftover parade candy sitting atop the refrigerator I remind myself – I was made for more.
When my teenager tells me she has a music lesson five minutes before it is supposed to start and it requires a 30 minute drive – I was made for more.
When the school supplies we need seem to outweigh every bank account, wallet, and couch cushion – I was made for more.
And when we celebrate birthdays with family and friends I’ll indulge myself a little, but remember that I was made for more than the entire tub of ice cream!
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