A Guest Post from Tina

Hey everyone!! Today’s post is a tad different, or maybe a lot, because Tina from Faith Fitness Fun is sharing her awesome story.

I truly admire Tina for always striving to make a difference in someone’s life, as well as her honesty about her body and her faith in Christ–not to mention, she’s one super-mom to her two adorable munchkins!  I am certain you will enjoy this post as much as I did. Over and out.

Tina’s Story

Hello, Fit For The Soul friends! Tina here from the blog Faith Fitness Fun. A little while ago Ellie asked me to share a guest post about something near and dear to my heart. I knew I had to discuss how my faith impacts my body image.

Now before you go closing out of your browser, please trust that I won’t get all preachy on you. That’s not my thing. My thing is wanting people everywhere to have a stronger sense of self. My thing is hoping to inspire others to a new perspective through simply sharing my story. Sound good? Good!

Somewhere in the neighborhood of eight years ago, an abyss swallowed my heart and held it captive in a deep, vast darkness. Due to many personal challenges, I got to a point where I believed I had no worth. The only things that brought me comfort lay in a misplaced sense of control through food and, ironically, losing control via partying. I defeated my body day in and day out with restrictive food choices that only led to binges. I had far too many “flings” and far too many nights spent so drunk I couldn’t tell you what happened. I felt nothing but shame or disgust for those years. All of this played out in an extreme hatred of myself, showcased most explicitly through how I viewed my body.

Then, I met a man. He actually believed in me. He brought up things like church and love. I remembered those things in my past…but they didn’t mean much to me then. I liked the man, though. So, I went along for the ride. The messages I heard chipped away at the hard stones surrounding my inner self and eventually brought light pouring in to my heart. My eyes opened. My faith grew. My opinion of myself changed 1000 fold for the better. Why? My faith taught me the most invaluable lesson:

My Body Is Simply A Shell For What Truly Matters

Through my faith, I learned that God made me for a reason. He makes all of us for a reason. The experiences we go through shape us. The passions we feel have meaning. We each have something to offer this world. Learning that I have value beyond my appearance helped me to not focus on that aspect so intently.

My body only houses the true components of my being. It does not define me as a person. At first, I couldn’t see that. I had to pray daily for God to help me love myself how He loves me. As I grew in my faith, I learned that God never loved me for the size of my pants or the number on a scale. He loved me for every nitty gritty detail, and most importantly for my love of others.

Nowadays, I focus on what I offer others with my life. The love I share. The passions I pursue because they are my callings – my purpose. Things like being there for my children, supporting my friends, sharing my story through blogging, and one day inspiring others through training comprise me. I can feel confident in those things and therefore have confidence in myself as a whole. Focus on your purpose. That is what your body is here for. To help you fulfill that purpose. It’s a beautiful thing, don’t you think?

Feel free to stop by and say hello in my neck of the woods. You can find me laying it all out there on topics like body image, my post-baby fitness progress, recipes, workout ideas, my ventures into pursuing my dreams, and random daily fun. Hope to see you soon!