Inspire! Day 2- Melissa

From Madelynn: I am so honored to have Melissa as our last guest for the Inspire! Challenge. I cannot begin to tell you how much of a blessing this story is to me because I have know Melissa since she was a teen and I have seen how God has blessed her despite the many trials. She is committing to being faithful to HIM and I have seen it firsthand. If you feel like giving up take a look at this story. Meet my dear Melissa…

Hello! My name is Melissa Correa and I am mother to Elias, a beautiful 18 month baby boy. My journey with weight began with my pregnancy. I never really had too many issues with my weight but after giving birth my body took on some changes that left me feeling very insecure about myself. Also, at the time I was going through many issues with my husband that ended in a divorce.

At 21 years old, going through a divorce and being left as a single mother was very scary for me. The reason I held on to the relationship I was in for so long was because I was terrified of being a single mother and having to raise a child on my own. So after we separated I felt lost and broken. I began to search for validation in other things such as drinking, partying, sex, and relationships. The divorce left me with many identity issues and tore down my self image. I felt that I was not pretty enough, that maybe part of the reason he left had to do with my weight gain. So I threw myself into working out in the gym every day. It was a futile effort because my heart and life just wasn’t in the right place. I was still partying and just not focusing my life on anything good.

Finally, I landed myself in another relationship that ended quite like all the previous ones in my life. I knew something had to change. As I sat back and thought about my life in the past years I realized how my life was one big cycle of sin. I fell for the same sin every single time and it always resulted in the same emptiness. What broke my heart even more was how this could affect my son. I knew something had to change.

I surrendered my life completely to Christ and repented for the sins that had bound me. I slowly but surely began finding freedom in many different areas of my life. The Lord has given me freedom and clarity in many areas of my life, including parenting my son. Through Him I’ve been given back an identity that was lost during that ugly time of my divorce. I’ve found a new found strength and focus with my health and continue to work out and eat healthy. Once I allowed myself to really be loved by Christ I began to realize that I needed to love myself the way I am before even getting to my goal weight. I believe that the answer to all of our issues that keep us feeling hopeless and helpless (not just weight) can be found in the loving freedom of Christ. Only God can break the habits and cycles in our lives that keep us going around and round in circles. When we place our trust and hope in Him, He gives us more strength, wisdom, and power than we could ever imagine.