This Spring our Fame Pastors will be walking us through the power of the fruits of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace... they all have power to transform, upgrade, and save your life. Pastor Martina starts us off with the power of love.

When I was in college the first thing I did was gain my “freshman 15.” Maybe it was just because I no longer had my mom looking over my shoulder reminding me to be healthy. Maybe I was emotionally eating to ease the pain of my first time living in a new city without my family. The dorm food diet was the worst since my most edible options consisted of sugary cereal  & mac n cheese. I held onto my freshman 15 until I left for Europe my junior year. Then it became my “junior 30.” By this time my health was dwindling, my decision making was questionable, and brain fog was concerning. I knew I had to make a change, but I didn’t know how to get healthy. When I arrived home from Europe I decided to go on a strict diet. This diet consisted of a weight loss shake for breakfast, raw veggies for lunch, and chicken broth for dinner. Nothing else. I was consuming about 200 calories per day and still doing light exercises.

I went on this way for 6 months. I would often wake up and be unable to see for a couple minutes. My friends begged me to eat but I told them I just wouldn’t. I was so unhealthy, but I lost the weight. Another 6 months passed, when I could no longer resist food, I moved to binge eating. I quickly gained all the weight back. I graduated college feeling fear and sadness over the direction my life had taken. I was out of control with my body.

I decided to move to Africa to get away and gain some perspective. In Africa, the anorexia came back with a vengeance. I barely ate anything the entire 6 months I was there and still for 6 months after I moved back. It was a long and painful journey of self discovery and control.

I started dating my husband, Jery, at the end of this year long period of an eating disorder. Around that time Jery brought me to the City Church and introduced me to the Holy Spirit in a very new way. It was during that time that I prayed and received my spiritual language. I encountered God’s love in a way that was able to heal me from so much trauma and heartache.

My husband also exemplified God’s love in a way I hadn’t known before. He exhibited God's love to me daily. For the first time, I felt someone accepted me exactly how I was and reminded me of it constantly. A huge reason why I  married Jery was due to how much better I understood Jesus through Jery’s ability to love me well.

The church and my husband's ability to show me God’s love changed everything. We were married the next year and I have conquered the eating disorders in my life.  After I had my second baby and saw the same thing I had seen years ago - 20 extra pounds, I was able to exercise and follow a healthy diet of fats, protein, carbs and veggies. It felt so much better knowing I had earned my fitness through healthy habits.  I was able to stay healthy and not revert to binging or unhealthy thought patterns. It sprung me into being better in other areas of my life as well.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 1 John 3:16-18

All of this healing came through from LOVE. The love of the church and the one person who brought me there and who displayed Jesus’ love for me. I bet you have someone you are close to who you can bring to church and better display God's love to. The people you are closest to are the ones who need you to show up with God's love the most!

xoxo,Martina McKinney

We'd love to hear YOUR story of how you were shown lots of love. Pastor Martina is excited to read your story and will be replying to each comment below. :)