Good Morning Warriors! Today as lead by the Lord we are going to do our blog a little bit different. I believe that along the way we need some encouragement to keep on keeping on. So today I have asked my sister in the Lord Crystal Miamba to be a featured guest. Ladies and gents its not easy telling your story so I thank her for being willing to share to encourage someone else. I pray that her story will help to encourage and transform your life in Jesus Name! Without further due the beautiful & powerful Mrs. Crystal Miamba.
First of all I just want to acknowledge The Heavenly Father who is my life and my source. I also want to greet all of my brother and sisters today. I may or may not know you but we are all connected and we all need one another.
When Minister DeShawna asked me to do this blog I was much honored. I have known her for several years and know her to be a woman of integrity and have seen God move mightily in her life. Initially, I didn't know exactly how to approach this topic of living a healthy lifestyle. There are many different angles all of which are valid and all of which will improve our quality of life if we endeavor to act upon them. When I think about my life, however, I know that any improvements I have made or any success I have is as result of God. Therefore, my approach will always be God-centric.
One of my favorite scriptures in the bible is 3 John 1:2, which says
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
This passage of scripture is not just the words of the Apostle John but they are the expressed heart of the Father. Any good father wants his children to be prosperous, healthy, and to have soul prosperity. As you read on, John begins to talk about walking in the truth. Again you see hear that the heart of the father is for his children to walk in the truth.
The word of God gives us a very simple formula to living a happy and healthy life. Your body will only be as healthy as your soul is and your soul will only be healthy if you walk in the truth. When we have a revelation of these key components our natural bodies will reflect that.
I know that the word is true and I know that it works because it worked for me. I have struggled with body weight for all of my adult life. When I was child I was a normal weight because my loving mother ensured that I ate healthy and balanced meals. As I grew older and began to live on my own then I steadily gained weight.
In college I picked up the freshmen 15 plus an additional 20 pounds. When I graduated from college I noticed that every year I was 10 pounds heavier than the prior year. When I had my son I really packed on the weight until I found myself at 300 pounds at 5 foot two.
In the winter of 2011 there were three memorable events that occurred, which all culminated into the act of me making a decision to change my lifestyle.The first came when my husband and I went to a friend’s birthday party and I wore a turquoises dress and was photographed in this dress. I knew that I was over weight but I was in denial about how much weight I had actually gained and how dangerous this excess weight was. When I saw the pictures that were taken of me I was shocked out how overweight I really was. I was living a lie. I did not want to face the truths Seeing those pictures was like me coming face to face with the truth.
The Lord then used my natural father to reiterate the truth. I was at home minding my own business when I get a call from my dad. He and I talk often so it wasn't out of the ordinary. We had our normal conversation and then out of the blue my dad says, “Crystal, I love you. You are my only daughter, but you absolutely need to lose weight or you are going to have some serious health problems in the future.” Again the truth hit me like a ton of bricks. Sometimes walking in the truth is a very painful process.
Finally, God Himself spoke to me and told me that I was abusing His temple. He then began to remind me of certain painful events in my life and different times of trauma and I was like why are you bringing up these painful memories. He then showed me that each of my 10 pound gains was almost always correlated to a painful memory or a time of stress. He began to show me a pattern of destruction that was in my life.
I did not really have a body weight problem, this was just a symptom. My soul was sick. The soul consists of the mind, the will, and the emotions. God began to reveal to me that I was an emotional eater. I used food to medicate myself so that I could numb out the pain of the past. He showed me that I had a great fear of rejection and therefore was rejecting myself. My body had become the grand canyon of emotional distress. I had layers and layers of pain all reflected by excess body weight.
Thankfully, God didn't just stop at showing me the problem. He began to heal me of each memory and pour life into each wound. I began to have a greater revelation of His love and realize that when I had problems and stress that I could go to Him.
After I went through this painstaking process of walking in the truth and allowing God to heal my soul, I was then in a place where I could make the right decision to start on the path of eating healthy and exercising. I started this journey on April 27, 2011 and from that time until today March 21, 2014 I have lost over 155 pounds.
Brothers and sisters, sometimes our hormones are out of balance. Sometimes our metabolism may be off kilter. I would argue, however, that the main reason people find themselves out of shape an over weight is because emotional imbalances.
When I began my journey, I was a 300 pound wounded woman. I was living a lie and I was not healthy. With the help and the grace of God I am now 145 pounds and I am healthy, am in good health even as my soul prospers. I still have goals to attain and I am ever-seeking for improvement but when I am down and when I need shelter I go to God rather than food.
I pray that what I have said herein will help someone else in the same predicament as I am in. Prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers
Crystal Miamba
Thank you for your inspiration!
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