Hungry...

Almost four years ago, I wrote a memoir about my recovery from an eating disorder. I named it Hungry.

It was something I felt undeniably called to write. I can’t fully explain it, other than I knew I had to do it. The kind of calling that says, “If I had six months to live, I would still write this book.”

And I’m so glad I did.

It was an honest look at the beginnings of my struggle and the long road to healing. Since then, I’ve had the opportunity to go into schools and sororities around the country, sharing my story of freedom and recovery.

Most recently, I’ve teamed up with an incredible therapist here in Nashville, Courtney Grimes. Truly, I feel like I’ve won the lottery getting to speak alongside her. She brings wisdom and truth in a way that complements my story so beautifully—and I’m so grateful to stand beside her in this work.

I still love the title of the book…Hungry.

Because hunger is such an interesting thing. And such a constant one.

That aching feeling that tells us we need something outside of ourselves. Yes, we hunger for food—but also for so much more.

We hunger for purpose.
We hunger for acceptance.
We hunger for love.

Aren’t we all just walking around, trying to manage our hungers?

This morning I listened to a sermon by one of my favorite pastors, Elliot Cherry at Midtown Fellowship 12 South. The title was Misunderstood Bread.

Bread, in ancient times, wasn’t just food—it was everything. It was survival.

And Jesus, in one of His boldest statements, said something that must have sounded completely strange at the time:

“I am the bread of life”

I love the way Elliot put it—“Jesus got weird.”

Because imagine hearing that for the first time. Bread? Of all things? He is comparing himself to what we literally EAT?

But what He was saying was this: just as bread satisfies physical hunger, He satisfies spiritual hunger.

In John 6:35, Jesus says:
“Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.”

What a claim.

Never go hungry? Can you even imagine that?

If there were a food that could completely remove physical hunger, we would line up for miles. And yet here is Jesus saying that in Him, our deepest longings—our soul-level hunger—can actually be satisfied.

So what do we do with that?

We come to Him.

That’s it.

Not when we’ve cleaned everything up.
Not when we have all the answers.
Not when life finally makes sense.

We come now. With all of it.

Our addictions.
Our secrets.
Our pain.
Our questions.

And somehow, in a way that only He can, He meets us there.

I don’t think it’s an accident that God made us people who feel hunger so deeply.

Maybe it’s a daily reminder—
that we are not self-sufficient,
that we were never meant to be,
and that our needs point us back to Him.

At the end of Hungry, I wrote:

“His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Doesn’t that sound wonderful? Isn’t that what we are all looking for? Peace? Joy? Yes—He offers you that.”

God didn’t create us to be hungry for nothing.

He created us to hunger for Him.

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” — Matthew 5:6