Godly Gals ~ Lori MacMath
I’d recently finished reading Shane Claiborne’s, Irresistible Revolution. It had an impact on my life immediately. There was one part in particular that caused me to pause. I paused because it meant so much more to me. In the book, he speaks to the notion of being “spiritually bulimic.” Bulimia, as many of you know is a tragic eating disorder that begins in the soul. It centers and focuses on an idea of perfection. Unlike anorexics, bulimics consume food and bring it back up before it has time to digest. Spiritual bulimics ingest all of that is out there regarding spirituality and God, but never truly digest it. They never allow the “Word” to be digested and used to nourish and fulfill His plans.
Bulimia is part of my testimony. You see, I suffered from both bulimia of the body and bulimia of the spirit.
For much of my high school and college years and then on into my married life, I was bulimic. I hid it from everyone, including my husband, for many years. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was suffering from the equally tragic, “spiritual bulimia.” I grew up in a Christian home and like many I know, went to church faithfully each and every Sunday, ingesting all that was told to me.
There came a time in my life that God chose to shine a “mega watt” bulb into a very dark part of my life. I was physically and spiritually starving, and it wasn’t until God literally blinded me with one of those “turn the lights off moments,” that I began to see just how dark the darkness really was. There was a time when the light overcame the darkness and all was exposed. It’s never easy to see what has been hiding in the dark.
It became clear that I could not do this on my own.
I knew God was the answer.
I “knew” that.
I simply didn’t “KNOW” God. Sure, I knew about Him, as you do with an acquaintance, but I didn’t know Him as my friend, my Savior, my life.
Right there, right on that road, God met me.
We battled the bulimia that plagued my body and the spiritual bulimia that overwhelmed my heart.
God meets us where we are.
It wasn’t until recently that He showed me the last chapter of this story.
It wasn’t until recently that He revealed how I had been bulimic physically and spiritually. It was time for me to share that story.
He saved that.
He saved it for an encounter with a group of teenagers.
It was time to tell the story. His story, made perfect in my life.
A Little Bit About Lori: Lori’s mom insists that she came out of the womb ‘talking’ and has not stopped since. Lori however, insists that over the past 42 years she has learned a thing or two about listening as well. Especially, when it is God who is doing the talking.
The smile she wears tells that she is so happy to be on the journey that she is on now. A journey that includes homeschooling 3 children! Lori is the owner of Internet Cafe Devotions, an online daily devotional site for women. She is also involved in several other online ministries. You’ll find her at Exemplify where she is the Moving Toward Holiness columnist. Lori is passionate about helping women apply the teachings of Christ to their modern, busy lives.
Lori is involved in women’s ministries and youth ministry in her church, Vintage 242, a plant church in her community. Along with church ministry, Lori teaches classes at Trinity HomesCool Depot, her homeschool co-op, keeping her continually connected with today’s young people.
Praising HIM every step of the way, she encourages you to enjoy the journey with her at her personal website, All You Have to Give, where she can be found daily, enjoying each and every season to its fullest!
Lori and her family live in Atlanta, Georgia, the deep south where you’ll often find them wandering around without shoes.
