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Tenth Sunday After Pentecost ● July 28, 2024
Alfida Figueroa, Guest Preacher © 2024
You can view the full worship video recording at:
Scripture Readings:
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (The Message Translation), Stay Connected
The texts of the readings are in the worship bulletin linked here.
The grass withers, the flower fades but the word of our God will stand forever.
Isaiah 40;8
Did you ever watch a movie that starts with an event that makes no sense and then says 8 hours previous…..
This is one of those occasions .
Hope you can follow the drama.
Hi my name is Alfida I am a compulsive eater in recovery. I measure and weigh my three meals with ingredients from the gray sheet and send it to my sponsor for approval. Between meals I only consumed water, tea and coffee.
Wednesday March 6. I was in choir rehearsal. Few minutes into the rehearsal my sister called to inform me that my son was in the emergency room. As soon as I let the choir members know what was happening I was surrendered by my siblings, they hugged me, prayer for the situation.
The rehearsal was canceled. Jorge drove me to the hospital and waited outside until I had some type of news about my son.
That automatic reaction is what the book of proverbs 17:17 said: A friend loves at all times. A sibling is born for a time of adversity.
I didn't have to explain to any of them what happened to my son, because I didn’t know myself,I did not ask to suspend the rehearsal or to be driven to the hospital, it just happened automatically. Just because I am part of this beloved community, where ubuntu is a reality- I am. Because we are.
The book leaving in abstinent, in the chapter 3 The meeting
Said that the best way to keep our abstinence is joining a daily meeting,
is connected with others seeking recovery, meetings happen when at least two compulsive overeaters meet to share their personal stories and experience. That sounds a lot like the verse on Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am i with them.
These meetings are also a chance for members to share the strength and hope given to them by OA.
Being part of the choir, leading the root group, being part of the Mission vision team, my role as chair of the worship committee, being connected with different activities in church have helped me to develop new and stronger friendships and grow my spirituality.
Alone never again.
My son is battling with depression, this situation makes him isolated from almost everything, this isolating makes him over eat, which makes him tremendously overweight, so he isolates himself because he is overweight. It is a vicious circle .
Depression is a common but serious problem that affects people in different ways. It affects not only your mood but also your body, actions, and thoughts. Depression can interfere with daily life and usual functioning..
if you lose interest in things you used to enjoy,
if you avoid being around people, or are you irritated by everyone you are around,
if you feel intensely sad, down on yourself, or hopeless
If you’re experiencing any of these feelings, it could be depression.
Please ask for help,connect with somebody. call someone
Also if you see some changes in your friend. Make the first move, call, invite him or her out . Connect your friend.
Remember Alone, never again.
On March 6 Jaime walked himself to the emergency room, because he was feeling really really sick. His blood sugar level was at 600
The oxygen was low, all his body badly compromised to the point that was showing symptoms of appendicitis, and the Drs were debating on operating him immediately or waiting until the sugar was a bit lower. He could not talk, he couldn’t keep his eyes open, he was connected to all kinds of machinery. That March 6 I thought that I would lose my son.
Looking for help for my son. I fund the GSA community, a branch of the overeaters anonymous
GreySheeters Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other and may help others to recover from compulsive eating.
My name is Alfida. I am a compulsive eater in recovery.
I joined a couple meetings as a listener. While participating in the meeting my thoughts were I am fine I am here for him, he needs help. I am not like these people, these do not apply to me. I don't have a problem with food.
I am here because my son needs help. By listening to others' stories I was confronted with my own reality.
If I am happy I eat, if I am sad, if stressed, because it is hot, or cold or sunday or anything.
There are certain foods that I can’t stop eating.
I ate even though I wasn’t hungry. I will eat until I feel sick of my stomach. So I realize that I have a problem with food.
I can not help him to battle diabetes and being overweight if I am in the same boat. The most important discovery was: He needs to realize that he has a problem and ask for help. I can't do it for him. The third traditions said: The only requirement to be member of AA/OA is a desire to stop drinking; in my case stop eating compulsive
I need to admit to myself and others that I have a problem with food. That I am powerless over the food.
I don't have the power, but God does.
In the 1970s, a few members of the original fellowship in Cambridge who had been following the GreySheet food plan, realized that in order to find true recovery, they needed to approach food addiction in the same manner that alcoholics addressed alcoholism.
They committed themselves to:
Complete abstinence from foods that set up the phenomenon of craving
Weighing and measuring only three meals a day without exception, eating only the foods listed on the GreySheet food plan**, and eating nothing in between
The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop eating compulsively.
I choose a sponsor
join a small daily group
reading the proper literature
listening the postcast and responding,
sharing my discoveries, anxieties, fears and milestones
writing a daily recovery plan that starts with meditations and prayers
Reporting with a day of anticipation for approval my three meals weigh and measure
No eating between meals. Only water, tea and black coffee.
Only for today.
Couple months later my son was in the hospital again. But this time something changed. He called one of his friends, and the next day Brandon and Jose came to the hospital.from that day on every evening one of his friends was there.
The nurses were turning a blind eye to all the visitors, because they recognized changes in Jaime's health. The power of being connected.
Addiction makes us isolated from families and friends, to avoid disapproval and side-steps judgment, but we are social creatures, we live in families, we work in teams, we do political alliances, we join clubs, gym, church.
The nature also teach us the importance of connection
Companion planting promotes growth and increases productivity of the plants.
School of fish: increased success in finding food, access to potential mates, and increased protection from predators.
Birds fly together for safety, searching, warmth and communication.
Insect in colonies achieve extremely large sizes and can live extremely long lives.
A cloud is form when enough droplets are connected and when the cloud are full they produce rain
Galaxy are a huge collection of gas, dust and billions of stars and their solar systems, all held together by gravity.
Connections can lower anxiety, and depression, help us regulate our emotions, lead to higher self-esteem and empathy, and actually improve our immune systems.
My name is Alfida. I'm a compulsive eater in recovery.
I taking the worlds of Phylipians 3:12-14
My dear siblings
I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is calling us to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'm not turning back.
Amen