It Matters!!

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I know there are some that don't love the Body Image show wink emoticon, but I wanted to share this letter I got from a friend. She's someone I used to work with and when I did work with her, she really got under my skin. In addition to the way she would approach situations and belittle people, she was very overweight and between those two things, I'll admit I had judgmental thoughts from time to time. When we went our separate professional ways we stayed in touch on facebook and have connected really well, even though I haven't seen her in real life in years. She's commented on our facebook page before, so I'll leave her name off. God has, yet again, reminded me how we can't judge people until we walk a mile in their shoes, and it also reminded me the magnitude of the effect we are having, that I pray "please help this show help even one person." - and we are. But here's what she had to say:

"I love your podcast, but this week's was A-MA-ZING! It was just what I didn't know I needed to hear!

I survived a lot of sexual abuse growing up. As a result, I protected myself the only way I knew how... becoming repulsive. That worked in keeping bad people away from me, but it also kept good people away. Thankfully, I have come so close to Jesus Christ and have healed so much over the last 16 years. I've come to love so much about myself and have been able to pass things I learned the hard way on to my children.

I met an amazing man in the beginning of May through an LDS Singles FB group. We have chatted and talked more than I have with any other human being. He doesn't live in Utah and we've discussed him coming to visit. At first I was terrified because even though I've been honest about everything about me, I just couldn't bare to see disappointment in his eyes. Listening to your podcast though I realized that he would never be disappointed in me, if I am not disappointed in me. He already sees me more clearly than I do on occasion. I have had many experiences in the temple where I have actually seen myself and burst into tears seeing my beauty as Heavenly Father sees me. That's one reason I love going to the temple... hoping that I can hold onto that image in those moments of doubt.

As we go to watch the meteor shower in the wee hours of the morning on opposite sides of the country, I will be reminding myself that my body is amazing... it protected me when the adults around me didn't! Now it's getting stronger (and smaller) and allows me to enjoy experiences that I used to watch from the sidelines!

Thank you (and the other women) for what you do! It matters

Originally written on August 16

Michelle McCullough