Thank You!

Thank you so much for all the encouraging comments! You have no idea how much that means to me! I woke up the morning after posting and considered deleting the post because I still wasn't sure about having it out there for the world to see, but I am so glad I kept it. It was very freeing to write about a part of my life that has been hidden for a long time. Also, a big thank you to the ones who are praying for me! Prayer is such a powerful thing, and I have faith that God answers our prayers when our lives and our prayers are in line with His will and when we expect Him to answer.

It is so cool how God works in and through our situations, even the ones that bring us such pain. This morning on my run I had an incredible conversation with one of my friends who I haven't seen all summer. She has been dealing with the same struggle I have, just in a different way. She opened up and shared a lot with me, which took a lot of courage. After hearing her story, I was able to share my own with her. It was so great to realize we are not in this alone and we can help and encourage each other. I pray that God will continue to use what I'm going through to help others and to bring Him glory!

I also came to a realization while I was sharing my story. I think the reason I don't struggle with self image and eating as much when I'm growing in my relationships with certain people is because those relationships are focused on and centered around Christ. On my team, everything is focused on speed, weight, and appearance. Even outside of practice, when I am with the girls, that stuff is still the focus. However, my relationships with people from my church aren't focused on that at all! Through those relationships, I am constantly encouraged and challenged to be a stronger follower of Christ. I want to invest more in these relationships because they build me up and keep my focus on the things of Christ rather than the things of this world.

However, I also want to invest more in my relationships with my teammates because I believe God has put me on my team for a purpose, and He wants to use me. I want to form connections with the girls that go beyond running. I want to be an encouragement to them and love them the way Christ loves me. I pray that God continues to use me on the team and that He will give me opportunities to develop deeper relationships with my wonderful teammates.