On two different days this week, I wore purple. I don’t usually do things like this, so I wanted to write why I did.

First, read this post.

I wore purple to celebrate brave women like  TC who are talking about the struggles they have, and who are strengthening others through such vulnerability.  

I wore purple because I struggled with an eating disorder for over a decade of my life. I have touched on that here in other places (and I also found out that an essay I wrote about my experience got published in a book).

But I also wore purple because I think an awful lot of women struggle with what TC wrote about — the core of what eating disorders are often about. We don’t need to have an eating disorder or end up in the hospital or an inpatient facility to have this be a REAL and devastating illness amongst us as women. (I know men struggle, too, but I do think that this struggle runs deep with women.)

TC writes:

“I spent a lot of time listening and learning about how so many dynamic, smart, happy, lovely, fun, beautiful women ended up with eating disorders that were drastically affecting their lives.  In my experience, the universal problem was that we all trusted lies.  Every single one of us, on some level, believed lies.

 “The lies I trusted had a lot to do with being worthy.  I absolutely believed that I was unworthy… of everything.  I was unworthy of God, of love, my family, my friends, my children, my marriage… everything!  I believed that I could and would never be worthy, that nothing and no one could possibly EVER love me, simply because I was unlovable, I was unworthy of love.  And I believed this with all of my heart.  To me, this was reality. “

My dear sisters, your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there.

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The challenges range from taking a break from the media to taking time to exercise just for pleasure to “spend time getting ready on the inside.” Be sure to have a journal handy as well. If you didn’t get a chance to see it, watch the video on yesterday’s post where Dr. LaNae Valentine talks about the value of writing in a journal.

What helps you connect with and be grateful for your body? What helps you feel and foster your inner beauty — to see beauty as more than just your looks?

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