Mercy

"And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and endureth to the end the same shall be saved" 

(Alma 32:13.)

I found this scripture so interesting because there is also another scripture in which we are told that we must not be compelled in all things. And yet, the Lord sees fit to compel us to be humble. I think He does that because He wants to be able to grant us his love and mercy, but we will never accept those things unless we are first humble. 

And none of us, really, wants to be humble.

You know what I mean--we want to be beautiful, smart, charming, sexy. We don't want to feel like we are the exact opposite of these things, and yet, that's what brings us to our low, helps us be humble. And from there, we look up and ask for help.

From there, if we are open-hearted, we can receive the mercy that Father wants so badly to give us.

I am working on this. Oh man, I'm working on it. It's so hard because I always just feel unworthy of His help. But then I read this scripture and am reminded that He loves me and that He wants to help me. He is a merciful Father, and He knows my every challenge, my every need. 

The Twelve Steps of Recovery

I've long known that I can't do this alone. My problems with food, with my weight, is way beyond my ability to fix on my own. I need help.

I read an excellent blog the other day in which a woman related to Moses 1:10 where Moses comes to realize he is nothing in the sight of God. Not nothing in that we mean nothing, but nothing as in we can do nothing without His help.

This is where my blog is going to take a religious tone, so please feel free to exit the building if it's not to your liking.

I am a Latter Day Saint. I recently discovered that my church has an addiction recovery program, and that they treat compulsive eating in addition to the more obvious addictions. A friend of mine who is a counselor in the program (and has no idea that I needed this information for myself,) provided me with the program's pamphlet. 

I'm going to work on the twelve steps of the program over the next twelve months and will dedicate a post or two to the steps each month. The LDS program is based on the alcoholics anonymous twelve-step program, but is customized to our faith.

The first step is to,

Admit that you, of yourself, are powerless to overcome your addiction and that your life has become unmanageable.

Step one focuses on honesty. To be honest with myself, with God and with those around me. I have a problem with overeating. I created the problem, but I cannot fix it on my own. 

I have told my husband. I have told Heavenly Father. I have asked for help from both of them. I am on my way.