Greetings, everyone. My name is Laurie Boulden. In my book Weighed Down: A Love Story Worth Lifting Up, Avery struggles with her weight and her perception of self-image and worth. While I don’t have a romance story (yet; please Lord, there is still time), the struggle with being overweight is very real to me. About 40% of women struggle with obesity. I am not alone, but it is a very lonely struggle. Why do I/we overeat? A blog by Too Much on her Plate suggests the following: stress, emotions, being too busy, exhaustion, and avoidance. Uh oh, I think I see myself in pretty much all of these. In fact, in the story Weighed Down, each chapter starts with a journal entry. My thoughts are expressed, my personal struggles are expressed. If I’m real, stress and emotions cause me to overeat. Pain in my gut means I don’t have to deal with the pain in my heart. My dog died recently. Over seventeen years of companionship, and he’s gone. It’s been hard. I don’t drink alcohol to numb myself, I dig into ice cream. Moving mom into a nursing home because I can’t take care of her on my own anymore—ugh, that just cut through me this summer. Food is a temporary lull from the guilt, but it is in no way a solution. Putting weight on drags me down. Being too busy is the excuse I use for not doing prep work so I still have something available even when I’m running late. I don’t have to waste my money in the drive thru. But I do. It’s just way too convenient.
Goodness, this is supposed to be encouraging. How can I encourage myself and you? As I’m writing this, I’m seeing things I MUST change. Problem is, I’ve told myself all this before. What I need is grace. God offers it to me in abundance. I need to provide grace for myself as well. How about you? God’s got our back, but if we really want to let Him make the difference in overcoming all the things that feed into poor eating habits, we all need to give ourselves grace as well.
I also need friends, people who can help me be accountable, and I can help them be accountable. We are so much more together. Do you believe that? I know God does. 1 Corinthians 12:18 and 20- God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. There are many parts, yet one body. See? I think it’s the same idea as together, we can achieve more. I’m not alone. I hope you realize you, too, are not alone. Let’s support each other so we don’t have to be weighed down.
I hope you find my post encouraging. Writing it is bringing all sorts of things to mind for myself. How about you?
Weighed Down: A Love Story Worth Lifting Up is available on Amazon. Click on the link to go to the page. Trying to lose weight sucks. Being single is worse. Avery has been overweight her whole life. It doesn’t matter what she’s good at. Doesn’t matter the successes she has. Every event, every major moment has been marred by obesity. Avery’s tired of losing battles, but who does she go to for help? Enter Life Coach Stan. He’s going to force her to face fears keeping her weighed down, and she’s going to find there’s more going for her than her weight. If she’s willing to release her past. But that’s harder than she realizes; and with God against her, is it even possible? The demon she’s wrestling isn’t obesity because negative self-image is more than skin deep. Can she be freed from the chains of addiction? Rise above the lies impugned by society? Can she accept that only God loves completely?
If you’re looking for a fun read heading into the holidays, give Weighed Down a look. Avery and Stan’s story will make you laugh (yeah, there’s something about a pool noodle) and cry (because that’s the way real life is). Sometimes, life is built on more than what we think.
Laurie Boulden is an Assistant Professor of Elementary Education with Warner University in Lake Wales, FL. Warner is dedicated to producing students with a Godly focus, ready to serve. She loves her job working with future teachers. She will gladly share how God made it all possible. Life outside of work involves traveling (please may we be able to travel overseas by summer 2022) and writing. The place often does dictate the sort of story being written. Her mother is her sweet friend covering her in prayer. You can see all of Laurie’s books on her Amazon page. Most of her work is published through Forget Me Not Romances with Winged Publications. You’ll meet a lot of great authors, so be sure to take a look.