INSPIRATIONAL
From self-hatred to freedom and beauty
Courtenay Bowser
I spent over a decade of my life
battling self-hate and many eating
disorders. Growing up as a dancer
and training in front of mirrors every
day did not make it any easier. I was
abused as a teenager and the only
thing I felt I could control was my
beauty.
I tried every fad diet and rotated
through multiple eating disorders.
The scale, the size pants I wore, and
the approval of men were my gods.
Those things determined my
happiness, and they were miserable
gods. They always left me hating
myself even more and feeling
completely unworthy.
Even after I radically committed my
life to Christ at 18 years old, the selfhate still clung to me. It wasn’t until
I’d given birth to my first child that I
had a life changing moment. I
realized that I was going to have to
choose to be free; to walk away from
the false chains I felt bound
me, and dive deeper into the heart of
God for me, and His people.
One of my favorite scriptures in the
Bible is Jeremiah 29:13, “And you will
JASMINE'S PLACE
24
24