By Kimberly Davidson & Rae Lynn DeAngelis
Kimberly – Most of you know I’m the author of the Eyes Wide Open book, which is a study on loving yourself and your body in 9 weeks. The book came together 10 years ago as a 12-week study titled I’m Beautiful? Why Can’t I See It? It became the fruit of the ministry God called me to. I had a grand vision—that the book would be part of every major church’s counseling ministry and eventually morph into a non-profit organization. This organization would be a leader in helping women in the Christian community heal from the effects of disordered eating and negative body image. Does this sound familiar? Might you be thinking I’m about ready to tell you the story of Living in Truth Ministries? You would be wrong.
Rae Lynn – Life rarely turns out as we envision or dream, but that’s actually a good thing because our dreams often pale in comparison to the dreams God has waiting for us.
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).
It is only when we let go of our dreams and say yes to God’s dreams that His Kingdom work can truly flourish.
The first time I connected with Kimberly was after I had stumbled upon her website and realized she had a story very similar to my own. I reached out to her by email, never really expecting her to respond, but to my pleasant surprise she wrote me back and thus began our virtual friendship.
Right around that same time, I had the opportunity to share my personal testimony of how God set me free from a 25-year bondage to bulimia on a Christian radio program. During the interview I talked about the key components of my recovery—biblical truth and Christian support. I suggested that if anyone was struggling with an eating disorder, they should get involved in a Bible-based support group. After the interview aired, people started calling into the radio station wanting to know where they could find such a group. To be honest, I just assumed they were out there, but after much research, I realized there was nothing like that in the tri-state area where I lived. This became a burden on my heart because I knew how important that was in my own recovery.
I’ve heard it said that our calling can be found at the intersection of where our great passion and the world’s great hunger collide.
I felt God prodding me to step out in faith and start a biblically-based support group to help women find freedom. I said yes to God, but told Him I would need a book to get me started.
Almost immediately, God reminded me of Kimberly Davidson. Since she had a thriving ministry of her own, I wondered if she could point me in the right direction. I gave her a call and she said, “Actually, Rae Lynn, I wrote a book which you could use in that setting.” She offered to send me a copy, and when I read through it, I was blown away! The steps to recovery used in her book were the same exact steps God took me through in my recovery, only I didn’t have her book.
How is that possible?
It was the same God who healed us both!
I instantly knew God had provided the tool for women to heal. The rest is history—or should I say, His Story.
Kimberly – Andy Stanley once said, “We don’t end up where we hope to end up. Our lives simultaneously end up wherever our path is headed right now.” Where I am today is radically different than my mission 10 years ago. The awesome thing is my dream still came to fruition—just through someone else—Rae Lynn DeAngelis. What I have learned is to be merely obedient and to follow Jesus versus designing my own ministry path. God is always breaking into our story and wants us to step out with Him in the moment. It’s not about my ability or my power or my desire; it’s about the name of Jesus.
Rae Lynn – I thank my God every time I remember you, [Kimberly]… I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in [us] will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6).
