Do Not Give Up

"During a visit to Maryland I was able to sit and share some thoughts with a sisterfriend in deep emotional pain. She shared with me her personal losses, physical pain and confusion as she struggled with her new body after undergoing serious weight loss surgery. She wasn't prepared to cope with the major changes and discomfort in her body, loss of friends or the psychological adjustments. She felt as though the old Karen had died and no one remembered her.

She was open to receive my perspective. I shared that until she acknowledged her previous life and embraced her new life through some sort of spiritual ritual with family and friends, she would continue to be tormented between two identities. The prejudice, stigma, alienation and depression was apart of her past life. After the surgery, she was faced with depression and psychological issues about identity that no one prepared her for with the new body. Not only did she lose weight, but she also lost her identity, income, home and friends.I told her that her pain is not in vain if she would be willing to share her testimony in a public way. Her courage to share not only released her soul from a cage of torment but it would also bless and help someone who suffers from obesity, loss and depression..

As long as we focus only on our pain, the pity party is perpetuated. Praise has power. Letting others know how the Lord brought you through can bless others. I can't relate to her story or help some one who now lives the life Karen once had. But God could use Karen to help some one else and her pain can begin to change.

I recently returned to Maryland again and witnessed her growth and testimony at church. Even though we both know that her option for this type of surgery comes with great risk and long physical and emotional healing, I join her in celebrating a new birth. It hasn't been an easy journey and yet she knows that the old Karen had to die so she could live.

I do not endorse weight loss surgery but I honor her choice and courage to take the best path for her healing and we praise God for her healing and new life. Because of her faith and sister support circle, Karen now enjoys more peace and a healthy self-esteem. Karen is a beautiful woman inside and out and she is learning to let go of her old self and embrace her new life.

Reading her testimony in public was the healing experience she needed to move on with her life. As you read her testimony, please remember the importance and power of praise, prayer, testimony and surrounding yourself with people who care about you. Don't become isolated and allow the enemy to hold you in bondage with depression and self-destructive habits. Karen could not have made it through without the Lord's mercy and the love of friends like her sisterfriend Paula and others. Whether you need to lose the weight of fat, fear, bad habits, guilt, shame, hurtful relationships, or clutter, begin to take those steps to reduce the weight of "emotional obesity" that can crush your spirit and life." by The Self-esteem Dr. Jewel Diamond Taylor

Karen's testimony...


"Four years ago I weighed 400 pounds. For my birthday, that year, my doctor told me that I was "morbidly obese" and that if I didn't get control of my weight, the quality of the rest of my life would be zero and I might as well be dead. He just didn't know that for years, I had already been praying for death. I didn't want to live another year, month or day as a 400 lb. woman.

Obesity is not a choice. It's a disease, just as real and deadly as alcoholism, drug addiction and a nicotine addiction. Believe me, no one wants to be an alcoholic, a junkie or a fat person. I wanted out - I wanted death. Four years ago today (February 24) I underwent weight loss surgery. That's the day my prayer was answered. 400 lb. Karen died. I lost my job I had for 20 years. I lost my house, my retirement and even some of my friends. But God gave me more than I knew what to pray for. I prayed for death and He gave me that and a new life. God allowed me to lose 240 lbs.

Today I have a new job, the best job I've ever had. I have a new car (with a sunroof), a new house with a jacuzzi tub and God blessed me with the best friends anyone could ever have or will have. I have an amazing Pastor and a wonderful church family. This morning, 4 years later to the day - I died and was reborn. I want to thank God for the death and thank and praise God even more for my new life." ~ Karen – Bowie, Maryland