Nutritious is the new Comfort

Started thinking about "Comfort Foods" yesterday. The old me loved my comfort foods - PBJ, grilled cheese, mac&cheese, mashed potatoes, bread of any kind, and my all-time comfort ice cream.

Interesting concept "comfort food". We are readily admitting that food is used to bring us comfort! The crux of my personal battle with food! Certainly in the past if I felt stressed, out of control in some area, or overwhelmed, where did I go - to my comfort foods. Didn't matter if I had been doing really well following some eating plan - the minute I felt I couldn't cope, I ate.

In the last 6 weeks, however, I have discovered that because I surrendered this to God, I am no longer seeking to bury my struggles in food. In fact, quite the opposite has happened. I am dealing with the emotions of stressful situations instead! For example, work has been incredibly stressful and disappointing ever since the school year started. It has gotten to the point where several times I had wished I could just resign. Quitting is not an option and in the past that would have sent me straight to a place where I could "feel better" - food. It hasn't happened. I'm praying more, asking for God's guidance in what is happening at work, and lo and behold I'm working through it without my old crutch.

Even more, I am discovering that putting nutritious, healthy foods into my body brings me far more comfort than those not-so-healthy foods ever did! "Comfort food" is really an oxymoron. Sure it brings you a moment of feeling comforted, but it leads to overwhelming guilt and shame. Now when I reach for something healthy, I realize that in that moment I am doing good not just for my physical self, but for my emotional self as well. To God be the Glory!

Now, don't get me wrong. Those former friends, my comfort foods, still sound yummy. And there may be times when I chose to have some - but now it is just for the sake of eating something I like - not for burying reality under a layer of fat.

I pray this is an encouragement to you.

Onward!