Jess Hover

Hope. We all need it. Some people are more desperate for it than we think.

I met a girl not too long ago, and in our first, brief conversation I mentioned to her how God had freed me from an eating disorder a few years ago- back when I first started trusting Him. I continued to talk about my life as a missionary, but I couldn't finish because her eyes filled up with tears. She said that I was the first person she had ever heard talk so openly about struggling with an eating disorder. She confessed that she was currently battling bulimia and that it was something she and her friends did together. As acting students, they thought it was wise to keep their bodies thin, by going to the bathroom together after meals and throwing up what they had just eaten. Within her circle of friends they didn't even view bulimia as something to "get free from".. it was simply a logical response to the desire they had to stay small. She said that she had actually been praying about it, because she could feel that it was destroying her life.. but she had never asked for help. 

That began an amazing friendship between us & together we pursued God, asking Him to set her free. It has only been a few months, but already SO much has changed for her. Its a beautiful story. 

And the whole thing is teaching me something... we all need hope. Christ offers us hope. All it took was me mentioning the freedom God gave me & it filled her with hope for her life. Actually that hope was what motivated her to fight for her life. 

So today.. let's be givers of hope. 

Let's remind people that its not too late, God is not finished, His purposes can still prevail in their lives. 

Be bold enough to say hello.. be brave enough to pursue a conversation.. be humble enough to admit where you struggle.. and be child-like enough to ask your Daddy in heaven for help... 

because its likely that the struggles people are facing are too big for you to take on. 

We need the power of God. That's where the hope lies. 

In Christ.


My beautiful friend & Swiss little sister, Marie Bader. A precious role model of mine.
Not the girl I am talking about in this story.. but another overcomer in the area of body image issues.