What she saw was a soul in need of being accepted and cared for. Her hug provided the healing touch I needed. I have ever forgotten that hug.
It took me a while until I could hug like that.
I first had to put my own agenda aside and see the hurt inside another. I have since come to not only be able to see the hurt, but feel it and almost touch it, as well.
When I am willing to be used by God in another’s life, putting their needs before mine, God is genuinely pleased. Not only that, He gives amazing insights into their needs and meets them through me as His hands and feet here on this Earth.
It may just be a hug, a word, a note, but it is more about them than about me. It is bearing another’s burdens,1 which Paul says is fulfilling what Christ desires. John adds that loving other is a command of Christ.2 Peter goes so far as to say we should greet one another with a holy kiss.3
No, fat is not contagious. It can be warm and welcoming when attached to a soul that genuinely cares for another human being.
Along with losing physical weight, we need to lose the emotional weight attached to our size. Embracing ourselves as a human being capable of being of value to another person is one of the first steps toward becoming healthy—body, soul and spirit.
1 Gal. 6:2, Eph. 4:2
2 1 John 3:23
3 1 Pet. 5:14
Teresa Shields Parker is an author, blogger, editor, business owner, wife and mother. Her book, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds and Stopped Trying to Earn God’s Favor is available on Amazon in print, Kindle and Audible HERE. This story is from her blog, teresashieldsparker.com.
Janet Perez Eckles 
Shawn Akers 
Abby Trivett 
