Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Wholly His
























Monday afternoon I received the following e-mail from a young lady with whom I have just started corresponding. I am posting it with her permission, in order to show the amazing way the Holy Spirit works in a person's heart. Many times, I have said that conviction is nothing like condemnation - God is so gentle and encouraging in offering us repentance. When one of His children turns around and accepts His gracious gift, she can't help but be changed. I am so overjoyed that this girl is running straight into His arms and trusting His grace to be sufficient to help her overcome lingering sin. The longer we stay in the pit, the more time we waste - time that could be redeemed by living for Christ!


From:
Subject: RE: i read your testimony and it touched my heart
To: [my email]@yahoo.com
Date: Monday, April 27, 2009, 3:34 PM

Hey Marie,
I'm sorry I haven't been able to respond, I was [out of state]. I did get you're other email and it was very encouraging thank you! I hadn't had the time to read the piece of your book until now and a lot of what you are saying makes things a lot more clear for me. How we go to God only half beleiving He can heal us or how eating disorders are sins and not physical diseases. To be honest, after you're e-mail I started off really well, but then when I went away I just felt so bad about all the food I was eating and then it went downhill. I thought I just failed once again and that there wasn't really any hope. But after recieving you're email, it just encouraged me again.

I really desperatly want to follow God's will, and I know that He can help me overcome this sin. Tommorow, I am getting baptized. I have been wanting to get baptized for a while now, and I could never understand why because I had already done proffesion of faith. But then after I read the part about how you said "Tragically, many in the Church today have made a profession of faith, but with no inward heart-change toward sin", it made me realize that was me. I made proffession of faith with no care about sin, and my eating disorder. I realized that this longing in my heart to get baptized, was God. I feel as if by getting baptized it will re-affirm my commitment to God and my trust in Him. That I am willing to totally give up my life to him, including this sin. I am not defeated that I have fallen this past week, but I am willing to keep trying and you have reminded me of that:)
Thank you for you're support!
It really means a lot to me,
Also, How are you doing? I hope you're week went well!
(Name withheld)



This morning, I had another note from her in my inbox in which she wrote: "...my baptism went really well, and I fell as if I was born again in Christ and that I am so ready to do whatever His will is."

That's what it's all about right there. God is so awesome!

5 comments:

laurie said...

What an amazing testimony for Christ! Thank you Marie for sharing this, it was a blessing. I praise God for this girl and would ask that we all pray for her.

Steph said...

Hi Marie
I was so touched by this young girl's testimony. I had a friend whose life was almost ravished by an eating disorder.

I praise God that she has been so encouraged by your words to her and like Lyn says we can lift her before the Lord.
He is truly so tender with us.
Bless you

Marie said...

Thank you, Jessie!

There truly is no pit of sin so deep that Christ can't pull us up out of it. It's ironic, because the "party line" in the world of secular counseling is that "you're never really recovered; always in recovery." Really? Evidently, God did not get the memo. He heals and cleanses fully and completely! Jesus is beyond amazing.

Glenn E. Chatfield said...

Marie.....although I am not on here much, my dear Glenn keeps me up to date on certain blogs including yours. :oD I just finished reading Chapters 1 & 2 of your book.

First of all I just grieve with you over your painful childhood. I find it tragic.

I also praise the LORD for how He can use our pain in such beautiful ways. Ways that we could not imagine especially when the injuries are so profound that we can not function. How beautiful to see His strength lived out in us!

I have read, "Who Calls Me Beautiful" (I think this is the title/don't remember the author....a friend borrowed it and says she never had it :/ ). The subject matter is concerning weight (although it could be any problem) and how parents can --without knowing--affect how we see ourselves thus creating major problems in us but more importantly how we think God views us.

Thank you for writing your book. I can't wait to read more. It has opened my eyes even more on how to come along side women who are not thinking correctly---and just love them. Silly---but I never thought about how isolating an eating disorder could be to a woman.
Jill :oD

Marie said...

Hi Jill,

Thank you for your kind words. Do you mean "Who Calls Me Beautiful? Finding Our True Image in the Mirror of God" by Regina Franklin? I hope so...it looks good; so I just ordered it from Amazon.com (got a real bah-gen on it, too!)

Interestingly, there seem to be many autobiographical and self-help books on bulimia published, but I'm turning up zilch from the nouthetic point of view. I wonder if that's encouraging; mine might be somewhat unique in that. I would love to hear back from the NANC folks to get some feedback.

Hey - check this out; the praises keep getting better! Last night I noticed a young Canadian woman who I had counseled pretty extensively a few years back was online. We had kind of lost touch and I wondered how she was doing. I Messengered her, and immediately she mentioned how great she was - it had been so long since she binged or purged that she couldn't even imagine doing it. She really seemed to think that our interaction and my prayers (I was going with a few other people to intercede for her) helped, and she was totally praising God (as was I).

It's so encouraging seeing women come out of this addiction and give God the glory. He is truly able....and when He turns their hearts, you know it's just a matter of time until they learn to walk in it!