Lord's Table Testimony:

I was raised in a Christian family, and have always had a sense of God's hand in my life. At the age of 17, I decided to get serious with my relationship with God and got baptized. I then attended Bible College and there met my wife, Jennie.

I have always been a big person, not so much in weight, more in height. After we finished Bible College, my wife and I went to work for a youth work organization. It was a really hard time, and I began what I now see was my descent into comfort eating and overeating. As our unhappiness grew, so did our dependence on food. We based our whole lives around it, and then tried many diet plans to lose the weight we were putting on. Meanwhile, our spiritual life was put on hold as we became more and more self-obsessed.

I recently changed jobs and met a woman at my new place of employment who was doing the Setting Captives Free course. After a long conversation about how unhappy my wife and I were about our size and eating habits, she suggested that we look at the course. My wife and I decided to do the course together.

When I read the first study I began to cry as I realized how far off my walk with God was. It profoundly affected me, and I knew that God had totally challenged me. Who was I living for? It had to be Him.

My first email from my mentor nearly made me cry as well, when he offered to pray for me. It had been ages since someone had just offered to do that.

I have lost some weight. It has been really hard getting rid of habits that have built up over years. There have been times when I have felt like just pigging out, but I have rediscovered my first love for Jesus. I have realized the futility in trying to satisfy myself; He is so much more satisfying! To spend time with Him is the best thing I can ever do. There's so much still to do, but I know now that I am not on my own, that I have Him to guide me. I live to glorify His name in all areas of my life. Even eating!

Starting weight: 238

Current weight: 216