By Rae Lynn DeAngelis
There’s some beautiful scenery along I-75 through Tennessee where winding mountain passes and rocky peaks offer one spectacular view after another. Some of the cliffs hug the highway a little too closely, but at least remnants of past landslides provide ample warning for travelers passing through.
When we were heading home from a recent Florida vacation and my husband and I had been in the car for several hours approaching the “slap happy” stage, I saw something unusual. High upon a naked rock-face grew a single large tree. It was such a strange sight, literally growing out of the rock. How in the world was the tree able to survive in such a desolate state, such a barren condition?
My mind suddenly drifted to thoughts of my friend Rhonda. (The same Rhonda whose recovery journey is being shared through Living in Truth Ministries.) The first time we met nine years earlier I had wondered something similar.
Rhonda had learned about my story of breaking free from a twenty-five year bondage to bulimia through one of her church members. Growing weary from her own fifteen year battle with an eating disorder (anorexia), Rhonda was clinging to life on the thread of hope that freedom was possible for her too.
She found my number and gave me a call. We talked for a long while on the phone, and after sensing the severity of her situation, I agreed to meet with her a few days later. My hope was to speak God’s truth into her life, face to face.
“The path of life leads upward for the prudent to keep them from going down to the realm of the dead.” (Proverbs 15:24)
I will never forget the day I opened my front door and saw Rhonda for the first time. She looked extremely frail. I remember thinking it was a miracle that she was able to walk the short distance from her car to my front porch. A walking skeleton, Rhonda was probably closer to death than she realized. Even her voice was frail as she labored to speak.
I welcomed her into our living room and began sharing my story. I peered into her eyes that seemed larger than usual against her emaciated face and saw a glimmer of hope. She was not ready to give up.
In that moment I realized Jesus had placed immense responsibility on me to be His loving arms and audible voice to Rhonda. In fact, God had brought us together for that very reason.
I’m amazed at how God works, how He uses our ugly past for good when we surrender it to Him. He brings beauty from our ashes and then, through our story of redemption, He carries hope to the hopeless.
Although our eating disorders had manifested themselves differently, there were definitely some common threads, as is the case for many women. (Ironically, the very first sin involved a woman and food. It worked so well the first time; the enemy continues using it to this day.) Rhonda and I both understood the magnitude of Satan’s deception in our lives and the heavy price we had paid because of it. Since Jesus had shown me the path to freedom, I was eager to point Rhonda in the same direction.
“Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
Through the profound understanding of one another’s struggles, a deep bond began to form. I was eager for God redeem my past and told Him, “Lord, I will do whatever you ask; just help me be strong and courageous.”
A prayer that had far reaching implications.
I can’t believe nine years have flown by since our first meeting. Never could I have imagined the incredible journey that lay ahead, a journey that Rhonda and I will share in future posts.
God works in mysterious ways and with precision timing. Stay tuned and be encouraged!
