You need a piece of chalk to hug her.

My Grandpa Uptain had many sayings.  "Don't wade no dry branches. Don't take no wooden nickels. Hang a snake in a tree and it will rain. Rub a wart with a penny and it will go away before morning." One of his sayings above all others stuck with me and settled deep in my soul. "You need a piece of chalk to hug her." He meant you had to have chalk to mark where you left off so you could hug all the way around. He meant you were fat. Huge. 

Spring 2004 with Lora (3) Evan (11)

Obesity is not merely a food issue. It is not simply caloric intake and burn. There are emotional and mental factors that cannot be overlooked if we are to find true freedom. And obesity is a family issue - family of origin as well as those we live with now. 

Let me ask a few direct questions. 

• What is your wounding that contributes to your bondage of obesity? 
• Are you making statements "in fun" that are inflicting deep scars on another's spirit? 
• How are you helping the person in your house fight the battle? 
• Could you be the catalyst to serious change in your home and family? 

My daughter, who is now 10, looked up at me in church several weeks back and had tears in her eyes. Her arms were wrapped around me. "I can touch my fingers together!" she quietly whispered. We both cried. Sunday after Sunday she hugs me and measures how her hands touch. She now can lock her fingers tight when she reaches around me. For the first time in her life she can hug her mother all the way around and she doesn't need a piece of chalk to mark where she left off.