I think menopause is going to be harder than I thought! The extended time waiting for a late period played havoc with my emotions and my body. The result was food cravings. My last blog entry was Nov. 15. That was a few days before the period actually started, and I was in full blown PMS. During that time it seems I crave food - especially salty foods - constantly, until the period is over.

After that week came Thanksgiving. And more work stress. Eating issues did not improve then.

After that came a bit of a personal problem. I struggle with childhood abuse issues, and some things came to the forefront that really play into my eating problems. I had an appointment with my therapist, and working through this junk is going well. The eating is back to manageable levels, but still is not what I need it to be. At least the binging has stopped - for now.

It is frustrating to me that these things are all so intertwined. Dealing with just one is hard enough. Balancing abuse issues and therapy, work stress, hormonal insanity, body image crap, and weight loss can get overwhelming very quickly.

The positive side of it all is, I'm still here. This was a bump in the road. I'm not giving up, because I don't want to give up. Nobody said it was going to be easy. Being healthy is worth it.

As a minister, I preach the doctrine of grace. It is important for me to apply that to myself. As Paul said in Philippians 4:13-14: "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us." Tomorrow is another day, and another chance.