Susan Larson
I first started looking into WLS about 2 years ago. I was recently single again and approaching 40 and gaining weight again. I have cycles that I go through, like anyone, where I try really, really hard to lose weight and do all the right things but then....Kabam - life happens!
I had a hard time with my teenage daughter, my boyfriend and I broke up, work wasn't going all that well, etc. etc. My refuge was food. Not really a lot of junk food (except sodas) but huge portions of food. That was my battle - portion control! I could eat a very large meal and two hours later I could eat again. I wasn't hungry - I was trying to fill a void in my life. But instead of doing something that was good for me like exercising, playing with my son, swimming...I ate. I also went out just about every weekend. I'd spend the night with my friend and go home hungover the next morning. I enjoyed being with my friend but I was using it as an escape from reality. And I ended up gaining about 60 lbs in the process.
About a year later, this past summer, the time came that I could not put off my responsibilities as a parent any longer: I had to confront the issues at hand. My daughter was out of control. Boy, those were some very difficult times for me. She would stay gone for days on end. I suspected she was using drugs but could never prove it. And to top it off, she was dating a 25 year old man (she was 16). I called his mother to see if we could meet to talk about them dating and I went to see her at her Church, where she is the Pastor. We were going to go to a different room during bible school and talk but I immediately got the impression that I was supposed to be there so I stayed. And I have been going there ever since! That was on a Wednesday night, I believe. That Sunday my son and I went to church there and the message was "let go of your burdens and let God take control". It was so moving to me. It was the answer I had been looking for for so long. To say the least, it was a very emotional moment for me. The Pastor and I are sure that the sermon, me being there, everything that had happened, was no accident or coincidence. It was the Lord bonking me on the head (whispering didn't work) and me finally listening.
My church is very important to me and my Pastor is amazing. The other members of the church are always full of love toward me and my son. I can't believe how much my life has changed since going back to church and becoming involved in the Word of the Lord again. It has been an amazing journey, not only for me but for my daughter as well. She is doing better, although she is not at home right now. I placed her in a residential treatment center where she can get the structure she needs. She is ADD, ODD, and possibly bipolar. She is really doing much better there. She needs an extremely structured environment and with me being a single parent and working full time I just couldn't be there for her like I wanted to be.
I hardly ever go out anymore except when my friend's band plays. I usually spend my time going to Bible Study one night a week and Church on Sunday. I love being with my Church family - they are so wonderful and uplifting and have shown me how strong I can be in Christ.
