Transformation: Is It Possible?

Several years ago, I battled an eating disorder. Fortunately, I was among those who have been able to fight back from anorexia and regain a healthy perspective. I’ve since become a counselor who often works with others who are struggling with eating disorders. As a result, I frequently receive questions like: Is it possible to recover from anorexia? Do you still struggle with body image? With your relationship with food? With your weight?

Some people think of eating disorders in the same way that they view alcoholism. Once anorexic, always anorexic—this is the assumption. But I’m living proof that this is not the case. What’s been the secret to my success, you might ask? I don’t take the credit. You see, I believe that God has the power to change people.

If it had been left to my own will power, there’s little doubt in my mind that I would still be struggling with my obsessive behaviors. Certainly, there was an element of my recovery that required my initiative. I had to decide that I wanted to get better. But I also had to humble myself, turn to God, and ask for help. I could not do it on my own.

One of my favorite images of God is God as Creator. I believe that God has the power to create all things, including a new me. As I reflect on God as Creator, I am able to understand how He could be capable of truly transforming me. When put this way, asking the question of whether anyone could fully recover from something like an eating disorder seems almost laughable. God, the creator of all things, can most certainly create a new me with a healthy relationship with food and my body.

What I love is that there is such hope in this perspective. We’re never beyond repair. There is nothing that we can’t overcome. The key is to acknowledge where the transformation comes from. When we try to fix ourselves, we end up discouraged and defeated, stuck in the same unhealthy patterns of behavior. But when we turn to God, we can tap into a power that is beyond anything we could ever muster up for ourselves.