Already Victorious – and I Still Struggle
Simply Radiant Magazine
By Jada Cantrell
“Three years ago, I began seeing a Christian counselor and I began the very slow and very tedious journey towards healing. ”
My name is Jada Cantrell and I’m the Department Editor of Health, which includes nutrition in the Simply Snacking portion of the magazine and fitness in the Simply Fit portion. But I can tell you, in all honesty, it’s one of the hardest things for me to do. I write about 20 pages of my random thoughts a week and I love to talk about life, about my struggles, about the news, about anything and sometimes too much. But the one thing I very rarely ever talk or write about is food and exercise although it’s on my mind every second of every single day. Both of these are things that I’ve obsessed with for six hard years and body image is something I’ve thought non-stop about for eleven years. My obsession has been so unhealthy that it made me sick physically and mentally. And during these years, I’ve tried to keep it a secret as much as I could. However, some things became so public, it was humiliating. And others were so private, it felt like a torture that I had to endure alone. Three years ago, I began seeing a Christian counselor and I began the very slow and very tedious journey towards healing. Just recently, after multiple challenging incidents on my journey, I was advised to regularly see a doctor, a nutritionist and a psychiatrist. And today, I still struggle so much with my thoughts on body image, food and exercise.
But as I write my articles, I want to make it very clear - writing about food and exercise is not entirely a part of my struggle. It’s a different part of me that’s extremely passionate about the beauty of the human body and about true health regarding the body, mind and spirit. And these passions and joys are separate from some of the lies I believe about beauty. I’m sure this sounds very confusing and it’s a contradiction I don’t fully understand yet. I want to make it known that when I walk away from my laptop after writing a segment on nutrition or after writing an article about exercise and fitness, the battle in my mind is constant as I try to stop my thoughts and obsession. For those that are like me, that have struggled with eating healthy or not eating at all in order to achieve a standard set by society or by anyone around you - and for those that exercise purely to change the shape of your body, I would advise you to resist the temptation to indulge in my articles and to flip past my Simply Snacking and Simply Fit portion. For these people, it only worsens your struggles and temptations. I struggle in the same way. My health related articles about food and exercise are purely for those that are pushing towards health and health alone, which in itself can be a very difficult struggle. My articles are for those who desire a healthy lifestyle - body, mind and spirit, devoting the temple of their bodies to God and God alone - to be the best they can be. This includes hygiene and health - to simply take care of the gift of a beautiful body we were given.
“I struggle in the same way.”
My Department, Health, is only focusing on food and exercise. But I can assure you, health is not just that. Health pertains to body, mind and spirit; health is every article in this entire magazine and more. I have not yet figured out this health thing and I struggle every single day with the temptation of hating my body, not being comfortable in my skin, not feeling acceptable purely because of how I look. I struggle with an eating disorder and over exercising. And I struggle with social anxiety because of that. Every day is a fight for me. But I’m on a journey towards recovery; I’m on a journey towards true health and true beauty. I’m on a journey with everyone that may be like me. And although it may not seem like it yet, we are already victorious in Christ Jesus.