Healthy Living

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While on your journey to be free from the bondage of emotional eating, having a solid support system is essential. Having friends who lift you up during your journey will give you strength when you are weak, give you encouragement when you are downhearted and feel like giving into temptation, and will provide you with hope when your road ahead appears bleak.

We interact with many people on a daily basis. Every day, we cross paths with friends, family, associates, acquaintances, co-workers, colleagues and strangers. Quite often, people enter and exit our lives without us blinking an eye. Yet, our God is so loving and kind, that he will actually place specific people in your life to give you exactly what you need. And as you take this journey, these special people, these gifts from God, are intended to be embraced, and God deserves all the praise for providing you with exactly what you need at this specific time in your life, as you break your bondage from emotional eating. So let us praise God and look at some types of friends God wants to place in your life.

A friend loves at all time... (Proverbs 17:17). An authentic friend will be patient when you need to vent, will be understanding when you are discouraged and want to give into temptation, and will lift you up when you fall. A friend is reliable and dependable. A friend will listen to you when you need an ear. A friend is focused on helping you grow, become stronger, and most importantly, accomplish God's will for your life. That includes being free from the bondage to food and staying focused on Jesus.

A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24). Your focus should not be on the quantity of "friends" in your life, but rather on the quality of your friends. Having a few friends who possess certain essential characteristics, which ultimately draw you closer to God, is more advantageous than having many friends who do not inspire you to draw closer to God.

Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. (Proverbs 27:6). Sometimes the truth can sting. But when spoken out of love, the truth is exactly what you need to hear. Another translation of this verse provides a different and equally insightful perspective. Wounds from a friend are received as well-meant, but an enemy's kisses are insincere. (Proverbs 27:6 CJB). Insincere can mean dishonest, deceptive, fake, or false. Do you really want the people in your life to be insincere? If they are, your growth will only be diminished. You will not flourish as God intends you to flourish, and you will likely remain in bondage to emotional eating. So pray for authentic friends, who love you so much that they are willing to kindly speak the truth to you, all for your benefit.

If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! (Ecclesiastes 4:10). God did not intend for you to attempt to triumph over emotional eating alone. God wants to place special people in your life, who will walk by your side on this journey. You will fall; everyone falls. And the fact that God desires to place specific individuals by your side, who will pick you up when you do fall, is a beautiful gift. Praise God for His love and His kindness, as it relates to the perfectly matched friends only He can bring into your life, at the exact time you need them.

Blessings...

Dr. Laura Hall

Always feel free to email me at [email protected], visit me at www.facebook.com/drlaurahall, or my blog at http://drlaurasblog.blogspot.com. I promise to thoughtful read each one, and will respond to as many as time permits. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (James 1:5)

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