One Easter to another...from mourning to gladness...

I have MUCH to be thankful for this year. Last year Jim and I look back at 2011 as a year of mourning and DEEP sorrow, as we lost Annabelle and our health was at an all-time LOW. We were both at the biggest weights, so unhealthy and had no energy. I could cry just looking at the picture of me from Easter last year compared to the picture of me from Easter this year. What a change God has done in me…yes physically as you can tell from the picture BUT so much more that you cannot see from the picture. He has turned my mourning into gladness, my brokenness into joy and turned 2012 into a year to celebrate life, family, love, and most importantly Him and His DEEP love for us. It’s been a year of breaking chains, being set free, overcoming the most intense grief we’ve ever been through and we give ALL the glory to God for walking us through this journey. I see so much more when I look at this picture comparison than just me going from fat to healthy, I see life again, I see a glow that was lost for a long time because of how unhealthy I was and the grief that overwhelmed me last year. I see someone who God has completely changed and is continually doing so, from the inside out. I see someone that God reached out and rescued out of despair and gave strength to, to overcome so many things and now has JOY because of HIM! I am SO thankful today! So VERY thankful He led me to Grace & Strength lifestyle program where Jim and I lost weight, lost chains that had bound us for so many years with issues with food and so much more! I now LOVE being one of their coaches and watching dozens of ladies each month experience the same freedom I have found....it's AMAZING!