Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Jenny. And I’m a choco-holic. I come from a very long line of Mormon choco-holics. What can I say? It’s in my blood. Ever since I was about 12 years old, I was overweight. Fatty food was always a vice for me. And I never really enjoyed exercise. Put those two facts together, and you’ve got a recipe for bad health.
I embarked on my mission as a fairly heavy-set sister missionary. And my three weeks in the MTC only made matters worse (thanks, MTC cafeteria!). But when I arrived on the tiny island of La Réunion, 400 miles off the coast of Madagascar, I quickly found that it would be all too easy to stay overweight. This beautiful French island is inundated with amazing French cuisine and chocolate, Indian food, and all sorts of other fatty goodness.
I’d been there for about 6 months when I was studying the Word of Wisdom to teach to an investigator. And it dawned on me: I didn’t live the Word of Wisdom very well. It was like a lightning bolt had hit me. I didn’t eat the healthiest food, I detested the half-hour between 6:30 and 7 a.m. when I was supposed to be exercising, and simply put—I felt weak.
I honestly felt like I didn’t have the Lord’s blessing to “run and not be weary, and walk and not faint” (which I actually did once—passed right out).
But luckily I had a companion who was completely different from me…
Read the rest at LDS Living.
