Sick and Faithful
Can Someone Stay Faithful With an Eating Disorder? For the One Who Struggles and Their Supports
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Mary Magdalene—we find her story in Mark 16:1–13—lived with demons for a long time. The demons weren't her fault, but she likely could not remember or imagine a life without them. Of course she would want to get rid of them, but how scary would it be to enter a world you haven't known before? You are already an outcast, and now you are leaving the "safety" and comfort of the only thing you know, even if it is demon possession.
I have had a demented relationship with food since I can remember, and an eating disorder since high school (I am now twenty-one). Of course, to be free from the ruthless intrusiveness of the mental disorder was all I could beg for—but losing it? That thought was sometimes scarier than living with it forever.
But Jesus was there to free Mary and embrace her. He had a special connection with her. Jesus loved and respected her so much that she was the first person he appeared to when he rose from the dead.
Whoever is reading this, let me say this as clearly and adamantly as I can: You can follow God and have demons you didn't choose. Jesus still chooses you. You are still a Christian. Still saved. Still loved. Jesus wants to embrace you. You can have as much of a relationship with him as anybody else can. You may feel cast aside, different, like you don't belong anywhere—even at church. But you still belong with Jesus, and you always will. Your suffering may even teach you how powerful your relationship with God is in a special way that others could never possibly understand.
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About the Book
Sick and Faithful - Does that phrase sound like a contradiction to you? Be honest - what do you REALLY think? If someone was actually faithful to God - how could they be sick, and why wouldn’t they just get better faster, more completely, more urgently? Kyra Arsenault, a Christian who has battled an eating disorder since her teenage years, was rattled with this question for years - and so were her supports. She is now here to unquestionably prove to you it is not—you can have an eating disorder and still have a relationship with God, and be faithful to God. And he loves you every ounce the same as he ever did. This book is a much-needed resource on a topic that isn’t talked about, keeping people isolated. A guide for those who are struggling and all those whose heart’s desire is to help them. If you feel stuck and recovery seems hopeless, or you feel hopeless for your loved one, give this book—and God—a chance as Kyra courageously opens a window for us into her soul.
About the Author
Kyra Arsenault is a daughter of God, a college student studying to be a registered dietitian, an athlete, and someone living in recovery from an eating disorder. She is on a mission to empower girls and women to have the confidence as humans, daughters of God, and athletes, to realize their equal value before God and all of humanity. To help them see their gender, pasts, mental health, body size, and capabilities are irrelevant to their worth, and to spread this truth in a society that perpetuates lies claiming otherwise. To instill the truth that food and our bodies are beautiful and have inherent purpose designed by God. For everyone to improve their relationship with themselves, the world, food, body, sport and faith.