Episode 37 Transcript
[00:00:00] Welcome to your daily bread with co hosts, Abbie Stasior and Hannah Calhoun. We're here to be your weekly source of spiritual nourishment, guiding you to find food freedom in a deeper connection with Christ.
Hannah: As we explore the intersection of faith and nutrition, these bite sized episodes will help you heal your relationship with food and your body through practical advice, biblical wisdom, and heartfelt encouragement.
Abbie: And as a disclaimer, we are not pastors, but passionate registered dietitians and sisters in Christ, offering our insights to support you on this faith filled journey to a healthier, more fulfilling life. Join us by taking a seat at our table as we break bread and allow God in to break the chains of diet culture.
Hello. Hello y'all. If you are struggling with body image this summer, you need this episode. I need this episode.
Selfishly, we are doing this for us, but we pray that this will be helpful for you too. Y'all. I don't know. This has been one of the most difficult, um, summers and body image wise. And I'm coming to learn. I just saw a post from Jordan Lee Dooley. Love her content. Love her. I've been following her for years, but she talked about, I literally took a screenshot.
Hold on. Spirit's putting this on me now to share this. , so this is what she said. Sometimes weight gain isn't a lack of willpower. Sometimes it's a sign of having enough strength to allow yourself to heal despite cultural expectations. Wow. Like that just really hit my spirit of like, I just felt like I heard the Lord say to me, like, Abby, you're working on healing.
Yourself. It's okay. And like, I don't care that like you've gained weight. Like I care that your heart is postured towards me. So we wanted to read from first Samuel 16, seven today, which, , we pray will really hit your spirit today. But the Lord said to Samuel, do not consider his appearance or his height for I have rejected him.
The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.
Hannah: So at
Abbie: this point in scripture, um, Samuel is you know, kind of anointed by God to go pick the next king. So Saul was the king and Saul was disobedient to God. So Saul might need to be taken out of power.
Um, so the Lord says to Samuel, go to this guy, Jesse, he's got a bunch of sons. One of his sons is going to be the next king and you need to go and anoint him. And so Jesse brings out his like seven sons or something like that. And so Sam is like, is this him? The Lord's like, no, is this him? No.
Like all the sons. And finally, Samuel was like, do you have any other sons? Like the Lord said that one of your sons was it, but now he's saying no to every son. And, and Jesse's like, well, I got, you know, this other son out back in the pastures, taking care of the sheep. I got, I guess I got one other son, but he's kind of scrawny, like ugly duckling, literally ugly duckling.
Um, it was like, well, let's bring him in here. Why would you leave one of your sons out in the pastures anyway, brings him in and obviously he's not looking like a warrior because at this point, I mean, they're the Israelites are going to battle all the time against like the Philistines and just warding off fights from everybody.
And so. everyone assumed that the next king would be really burly and strong and just have this look of a of a warrior what they assumed no no no god does not look at the outward appearance he considers the heart so god and i've read this scripture so many times we've brought the scripture up on previous episode but we wanted to bring it back again because the lord really oh i just like he spoke to me In a different way.
And maybe just instead of knowing it in my head, I feel like I really received it into my heart. But when I was looking at myself in the mirror the other day, the Lord said to me, he's like, Abby, everyone looks in the mirror like this, especially in the summer. And they're, they're hating their body.
They're like just being so nitpicky and self deprecating towards themselves. He's like, I don't look at any of that. I literally don't look, I don't, I see you in a completely different way and you can't fathom it because your brain has a capacity, but it's like, I look at you in a completely different way.
And so people are so focused on fixing the wrong body part. They think, Oh, I don't like my stomach. Let me fix my stomach or let me, you know, do something to fix my legs or, or my butt or my arms. But he's like, I look at the heart and like, that's what people need to focus on fixing. People are so focused on fixing their outward appearance.
But they're not looking at at their heart. Um, so I hope that the Lord will really speak to you through this verse. I hope that y'all can kind of meditate on it because this is the truth. How you see yourself, what you say about yourself, even what other people say about you, that is not the truth. God says, I am the way, the truth and the life.
This is what's true about you. So how do you feel about yourself day to day is going to fluctuate, but this never waivers. So this is what you really have to learn to accept and receive as the truth that you are fearfully and wonderfully made and that you're chosen and that you're blessed and that you're precious and honored in his sight and that he cares more about the state of your heart Then your, your outward appearance.
So God doesn't care that I've gained weight. He cares that my heart is postured towards him and that I'm thirsting for him and that I'm seeking him, um, all day, every day, as much as I can. And you all have to be very careful with what you're saying to yourself. The power of life and death is in your tongue.
So what are you speaking over yourself? Are you speaking death or are you speaking life? . Yeah,
Hannah: so true. And I love what you shared, um, at the beginning, um, about what that individual had posted in her quote of, uh, what was it? Weight gain is not of a sign, a sign of a lack of willpower. Um, but that you're allowing yourself to heal and I think of the clients that I've worked with in the past who have, you know, eating disorders that manifest as, , a lot of weight loss or being very emaciated and, I have seen some of their social medias and, and their, their posts, , When they were in the thick of their eating disorder and people are commenting like skinny queen, skinny legend, body goals, you're such a barbie, real life barbie, and I'm like, wow.
Meanwhile, I saw all the tears that they were shedding and, you know, I'm like, wow, people have no idea. And then, you know, a lot of times they would come back and say, like, I'm really nervous about Thanksgiving and Christmas because, you know, my, you know, my family makes comments about my body and I'm gonna see my relatives who haven't seen me in a while.
And, You know, and meanwhile, they, they're in the process of weight restoring, um, to a stable, medically stable weight, uh, for them, themselves, and healing from their eating disorder. And it's really sad, um, that people feel the need to comment on whether someone has gained weight or lost weight, because you really don't know what they're going through.
Um, and I think of, uh, another point that, um, you know, if you're feeling like, You know, I really feel like I'm not taking care of myself very much and I'd like to make, set aside some time for myself to work out and, you know, to prioritize my meals better. Um, and that's your motivation. Like, oh, I want to feel strong.
I used to be a little bit more toned and, you know, I've kind of been busy and not prioritizing myself and I want to get back into it. That's different than I have a pool party in two weeks. How can I shape up before that? You know, there's a big difference between those two, like one is kind of like inspired and the other one is like, I hate myself.
I need to change. People are going to see me. What do I do? Um, and just another note about the, the quote that you had mentioned at the beginning. Of how weight gain is not, like, necessarily a sign of lack of willpower, but of someone's healing. I think about how mental health medications, a lot of times, result in weight gain.
And, you know, I think of medications for bipolar disorder, like, Lithium, I think of antidepressants, it doesn't happen to everyone, I hope I'm not discouraging anyone from being put on meds if you need it because it's a wonderful thing, you know, I'd rather be happy and pudgy than skinny and sad, that's what I always say, you know, like I It's really, really important to get your mental health in order and if that means seeing a therapist, seeing a psychiatrist, being put on the right meds so you can be balanced, then, you know, that's great, but sometimes a side effect is that you gain a lot of weight and you might say, oh, so and so, you really let yourself go, meanwhile, they've done the opposite of let themselves go.
Yeah, they're actually experiencing freedom. Exactly. They're getting, like, the help that they need. And, you know, you gotta get your mind right before you can even think about your body, to be completely honest, like, you know.
Abbie: And that's what's more important, having that freedom and that peace and that joy and your vibrancy back, than staying the same weight or losing weight or doing anything to avoid gaining weight.
Because, yeah, this is the highest weight that I've ever been. But I have never experienced so much joy and it's allowed me to get closer to God because I'm not so consumed with food. I don't have a fear of food anymore and I've done so much healing. Um, and I'm not hungry all the time. It's so distracting to be hungry all the time.
It's true.
Hannah: It really is. And, you know, growing up, even when I was 100 pounds, I had Cellulite, like, on my legs, that, that was visible, and, you know, 100 pounds, guys, come on, and I had friends, you know, as teenagers, that were, skinny and they had stretch marks, you know, it's so it's, we, there's a lot of capitalizing on women's insecurities and some of us are genetically prone to cellulite more than others and some of us are genetically prone to stretch marks more than others.
A lot of this is
Abbie: genetics.
Hannah: Yeah, just like dark spots and wrinkles, etc. and acne and like it's the same kind of thing and it doesn't matter if you're. 100 pounds, 150 pounds. Like, if you're prone to cellulite, girl, you're gonna have it. I mean, like, there's different things you could do, but don't, like, beat yourself up and say, like, I just need to get so skinny that my cellulite disappears, or I hate my stretch marks.
Like, we're all, we're all different. We're all different,
Abbie: and yeah. Yeah. So, and this makes me think of like Matthew 6, 25 through 34, like, don't worry about what you're going to eat or drink or what you're going to wear, but keep seeking him, his kingdom, his righteousness, everything else will be added to you.
Um, and if you're looking at, You know, this verse in first Samuel 16, seven, like, I think a good question to ask is, Lord, what do I need to change in my heart? What do I need to, renew, or how do I posture my heart like better towards you? Because that's when you know, you'll be in right standing with God and you will be. that's what he cares about. So how can we, like Romans 12, how can we renew our mind to care about what God cares about and Lord help me, release me from caring about what the world cares about. That's my prayer for y'all today. And I hope that this helps you with improving your body image this summer.
Thank you for joining us on this episode of your daily bread. We hope you found inspiration and practical guidance to nourish your body and soul. Remember the journey to a healthier relationship with food and a deeper connection with Christ is ongoing and we're here to support you every step of the way.
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As we conclude today's episode, we encourage you to take what resonated with you into your quiet time with God, allow God to reveal to you any changes that you can make for his glory, trusting that you are fearfully and wonderfully made in his image. Stay tuned for our next episode where we'll continue to explore how God's word helps us heal our relationship with food in our bodies Until then may you find both physical and spiritual nourishment and may you be filled with his peace and joy.
God bless
