I Made the Shift. Will You?

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 - Comments 2

I’ve made the shift. Have you?

My story of living with an eating disorder is probably a lot like other stories you have heard. A poor sense of identity, low self-esteem, and growing up in a world that idolizes thinness and external beautify, left me feeling dissatisfied with myself nearly all of the time. I would compare myself to the latest “it girl” in fashion magazines and vow to diet until I looked like her.

Of course, nobody told me that fashion models are thinner than 98 percent of American women.

I dieted incessantly, but dieting left me ravenous. Bingeing always followed days of strict dieting. I would eat a whole bag of chips, a box of chocolates, and a half of can of whipped cream—all in one sitting. Then, I used laxatives to purge the food from my body.

I realize now that I was trying to purge more than food from my body; I was trying to rid myself of the feelings of self-loathing and self-hatred that had plagued me from childhood. My cycles of bingeing and purging continued for nearly 20 years, until a night in the emergency room after downing a handful of laxatives left me scared.

Scared enough to make a shift.

That was 12 years ago. The road to healing was long and hard.  It began with a simple decision—to stop the denial and get the help I needed.


A New Shift
Recently I decided to take it a step further.

I learned of True’s true:shift campaign. This is a GREAT idea, but there’s no way I can participate, I thought. After all, my finances were tight. Real tight. There was just no way I could come up with $32 extra every month!

But that’s just it. I didn’t have to come up extra money. The True Campaign was asking me to take some of the money I spent on my outside appearance for things like cosmetics, fashion, and expensive haircuts—things that really don’t satisfy—and shift those resources toward efforts to satisfy the needs of the hungry.

I spent some time in prayer then visited the true:shift website . At the bottom of the page, I clicked on the “Sponsor a Child” link—just to see. At the time, I had no real conviction about sponsoring a child.

When I came upon Esther Chebet Twintia’s photo from Uganda, I knew. At that moment, the reality of her need pierced my heart and I experienced God’s love for her in a tangible way. Where Esther lives, children suffer from social and emotional abuse, including cultural and traditional beliefs that allow the mutilation of young girls in ceremonies that put them at risk for contact with HIV/AIDS. I signed up immediately—before True adopted the village of El Gade.

Although it’s just been a few weeks, I treasure my involvement in Esther’s life. I keep her picture on my desk, and throughout the day, I pray for her—that she would experience the love of Christ in tangible ways and that God would satisfy not only her physical needs but also her emotional and spiritual needs as well. I pray, too, that God would use me—the words I write in letters and e-mails and the prayers I lift on her behalf, to transform her life. I believe He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory” (Ephesians 3:14-21).

One of the things I like about Food for the Hungry is that they make it so easy to communicate with Esther through letters, email, or even in person through a short-term missions trip, if I desire. I have also joined the Sponsor Prayer Network. When needs arise, I receive requests that allow me to pray for specific needs.

I signed up thinking my sponsorship would change Esther’s life, and it will. But in reality, it may change me even more. In this self-absorbed culture that we live in, it’s given me the opportunity to focus on not only Esther but also her country, which lacks the modern conveniences I take for granted. It’s made me more aware of the HIV/AIDS crisis in the world and given me empathy for those impacted by it. It’s also taught me how to pray in new ways as I intercede for needs that are very difference from my own.

I encourage you to visit the Food for the Hungry website, look at the faces of these beautiful children, and learn more about the challenges they face daily. Then spend some time in prayer, asking God to show you how to shift resources from yourself to meet the needs of the hungry.

I believe God will show you simple steps you could take that will change a child’s life.

Mary Yerkes

Click here to find out more about true:shift or sponsor a child now.