Before I dive in, I’m grateful to be linking up with Heather for this edition of ‘Friday Favorites.’  In a lot of ways, I could call these my FAVORITE reasons to recover.  They are some of the rock solid facts and truths that I keep in my mind everyday, especially on the days when I am struggling most.   

One of the questions that floats around Instagram on the recovery accounts is, ‘Why Should I recover?’  People are asking, ‘Why is it worth it for me to recover, get my life back, and start afresh?   I’m not going to smash anything down anyone else’s throat.  (Pardon the rather graphic description)  But I am going to share with you the reasons why I am 99% recovered by God’s AMAZING grace.   I repeat these often to myself, and they keep me going despite the difficulty of the journey.    I wanted to share them with you all, and I hope they are refreshing and encouraging for you.   

1.  I are fearfully and wonderfully made. Psalm 139:14 says, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.’   God made you.  He designed you.  He knew you before the foundation of the earth.  He says that to Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5 when He is speaking to him, ‘“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.”  
2. God’s made me in His image.  I am not a piece of dust, floating around, waiting to vaporize into eternity.  Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”   It was a special unique bond that God created between man and Himself, only broken by man’s sin in the garden.   Yet, that bond was again re-forged when God sent His only Son for the world who desperately needed redemption.  John 3:16, a familiar verse, that never grows old shares, ‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.’  
3. As a child of Christ, I  was made to do His work on this earth.  Ephesians 2:10, “”We are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”   That work is bringing salt and light to dark places, encouragement to the hurting, and the gospel of Jesus’ death for my sins and resurrection for new life in Him.  
4. God has promised to be with you through every step.  People’s emotions and friendships vacillate up and down, up and down, but God is constant.   He has promised to be with you because you are precious in His eyes. Isaiah 43:1-2 says,  “But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you. Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you.”  Isn’t that beautiful?  
5. Jesus didn’t come so that I might have death.  He came so that I might have life and that more abundantly.  If I seek death by starvation, I am throwing away the promise of His life, one of the most precious gifts I have ever been given.  John 10:10 says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”  
6. I love my family, and my family loves me.  My family loves Jesus, and they have shown the love of Jesus over the past 7 years in many ways that I wouldn’t have thought possible.  They have challenged my fear food.  They have questioned my idols.  They have been like the ‘friend that sticks closer than a brother’ and ‘iron that sharpens iron’ to me as I have walked this journey.   
7. I experienced freedom like never before when these idols started to crumble.  This line comes from a hymn called, ‘All Praise to God who Reigns Above.’  ‘All idols under foot be trod,
   The Lord is God! the Lord is God!’This brought me freedom.  Some people might think of Christians as being narrow minded.  Maybe I am, but I have experienced no other life more light and joyful than this life I am living in Christ.  I have freedom in this promise from 1 John 1:9, ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’   Do I have regrets from the years I spent obsessed with my body?  Yes.  But they don’t tie me down anymore.  They don’t define me, because I have confessed my idols to God.  I have and am laying them at His feet, and I know that He has forgiven me.  
8. To share my story with others so that they know recovery is possible.  I want to share balm with the hurting and let others know that the journey, though fraught with difficulty, will be worth it.   I truly want to be the savor of God’s grace, mercy, and love to those who need healing, and I pray that this blog would be just one way to do that.  Reasons to recover?   Share yours below.  I would love to hear about your journey <3, because I know it’s not easy.  But it is WORTH IT!