Holy, Healthy, Whole: Growing Fruits of the Spirit for Weight Loss and WellnessSample

When People Eat Ice Cream

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 (NIV)

I loooove ice cream. I don’t care if it’s the middle of winter and freezing outside. I’ll wrap myself up in a warm blanket and have a bowl as a bedtime treat.

When I was at my heaviest, I ate whole cartons of ice cream in one sitting. I ate boxes of Drumstick Ice Cream cones and hid the wrappers so no one would know how many I had eaten.

For a time during my weight loss journey, I gave up ice cream because it was too tempting to have it in the house. Once I started eating it, I couldn’t stop.

I remember one evening shortly after this decision. My husband, Mike, and I were watching TV after the kids went to bed. Mike sat down on the couch next to me with a huge bowl of ice cream.

Friend, oh, how I wanted that ice cream!

I struggled internally. I didn’t say anything but attempted to steer my attention back to the TV show.

The craving intensified.

My husband was oblivious, contentedly slurping away at his yummy treat.

I continued to white-knuckle it until finally I burst out,

Would you STOP eating ice cream in front of me??!

My poor husband looked over at me with a shocked expression. He quickly got up and finished his snack elsewhere.

Mike didn’t have the food issue. I did.

Sure, he could have perhaps been a bit more sensitive, but it’s my job to manage my cravings.

Sometimes we get so focused on our goals and guidelines that we forget that the people we live with, work with, and interact with are people, too.

Imagine how much better it would have been if I’d had a conversation with Mike earlier about why it would be helpful not to eat ice cream in front of me.

Is it time for you to have some of those important conversations with support people in your life?

Reflection: In what ways do you need to show more kindness to people in your life, especially about food?

Prayer: Lord, I need help during this weight loss journey, and sometimes that means having difficult conversations. Please give me the wisdom and grace to respectfully ask for support in gentle ways. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.