Finding Freedom: Let’s Taco bout Recovery
Nacho Average Sister (Marissa & Lacey) are sisters pursuing Jesus, recovery, and adventure. They are both recovering from anorexia, and are passionate about dismantling diet culture and raising awareness about eating disorders in teams and young adults. Whether on the farm in the garden, speaking in classrooms, or traveling the world, these two sisters are definitely not average! We can't wait to meet them and read what God is putting on their hearts! We are so excited to welcome Marissa & Lacey to our Guest Writer line-up and are so excited for you to read their blog.
Read below, comment, and join the conversation! XO, the Boldly Seeking Team
Hi friends! We are Marissa & Lacey: best friends, sisters, and daughters of Christ. Before we get into today’s blog, we’d love to pray for you:
Dear God, thank you for this opportunity to share your story. We pray for all of those reading: may they be humbled by your goodness, overwhelmed with your love, and challenged to answer your call. To you be the glory, forever and ever.
Now back to the blog → In addition to being sisters & best friends, we are also both recovering from anorexia. If you’d like to learn more about our recovery story, you can check us out @nachoaveragesisters on Instagram. Rather than share all the details here, we’d like to use this post to reflect on how God has freed us from our disordered relationship with food and exercise.
At the start of our recovery journey, we read the book “You Are Free: Be Who You Already Are” by Rebekah Lyons. One of our favorite quotes in this book is “when we become enslaved to anything, we miss out on a life of surrender and peace.” Our eating disorders enslaved us to a life focused on striving for perfectionism, staying in shape, and fitting in. By turning to our eating disorders to cope with anxiety and stress, we were missing out on surrender, peace, and more.
Although the eating disorder felt comfortable, God did not want us missing out on the life He thoughtfully designed for us. We were not created to devote all of our time and energy to coping with our difficulties using unhealthy skills. Something that kept us grounded in this rough season was 2 Corinthians 3:17: “For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” The same power (@ the Holy Spirit) that raised Jesus from the dead lives within us, and this power can overcome anything that we are struggling with. Wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.
What are you enslaved to? It might not be a disordered relationship with food & exercise (although, given the #dietculture we all live in, it certainly could be!). Perhaps you are obsessed with what other people think of you, how many likes your social media posts have, or whether or not you will find a partner in the next year. Maybe it’s depression or an addiction that holds you captive. (1) We are with you, and (2) while this may be a season, we want you to be fully equipped going forward, so check out a few of our thoughts below on finding freedom!
FREEDOM IS NOT AS SIMPLE AS SAYING “I’M FREE”
“Freedom does not consist in the word “freedom,” or in words, but in relationship to Jesus Christ, through abiding in His Word, and being His disciple” (David Guzik). We are not automatically free when we claim the freedom that Christ has given us. Instead, it is through pursuing Jesus, reading the Bible, and striving for discipleship that we can truly walk in freedom. John 8:36 says “If the Son sets you free, you are free indeed.” Jesus set us free, and we cannot pursue freedom apart from Him. ASK: How can you grow closer to God in your pursuit of freedom?
FREEDOM AND COMMUNITY ARE BEST FRIENDS
Both of us turned straight to community (and God!) during our recovery. Our friends and family prayed for us, encouraged us, and fed us. 🙃 You know the verse that speaks to the strength of a cord of three strands (Ecclesiastes 4:12)? If it had been just us working together to recover, we would have broken. Only by the grace of God and power of community were we able to weave our hardships together to form a strand strong enough to overpower the enemy. ASK: How can you be vulnerable with your community so that you can support each other in finding freedom?
FREEDOM NEEDS TO BE CONTINUOUSLY SOUGHT
Freedom is not a “one-stop shop.” We can’t choose to seek freedom on Monday and expect to be free still on Saturday. In eating disorder recovery, your meal plan is a daily minimum to meet. Similarly, in our walk with the Lord, seeking freedom through a relationship with Jesus and studying the Word is a daily minimum. ASK: How can you seek freedom daily?
We are praying for you and cheering you on as you seek freedom from whatever is holding you captive. Please reach out to us if you have any prayer requests or questions about eating disorder recovery. We’ d love to connect!
