Interview With Michelle Griep—Body Image and Faith

Michelle Griep, Author

Michelle Griep is the author of A HEART DECEIVED and of UNDERCURRENT and GALLIMORE.

Michelle, welcome to Overcoming With God. We appreciate your willingness to share your testimony of overcoming with our readers. 

Would you tell us about the most difficult thing in your life you have had to overcome, with God’s help?

I have a sweet tooth the size of New York City. Can anyone relate? Cookies. Cake. CHOCOLATE! Yeah, I love me a large dessert, before and after the meal please. I’ve learned to not elbow people out of the way or mow down little old ladies with walkers when there’s a pastry to be had, and I’ve since curbed my urges to stuff my face with treats, but it wasn’t always that way.

Rewind the clock back to junior high. Afternoon. Math class. Boring…until the teacher announced that one student had brought cupcakes to share in honor of her birthday. Cupcakes?! You bet I was out of my seat before the teacher finished his sentence. That’s when I heard one of the boys call out, “Look at that. The fattest girl in the class is the first one up there.”

I was devastated. I honestly didn’t know I was fat, until then. The thing is…I wasn’t. Yeah, I admit I wasn’t Barbie thin. I had a little muffin top going on and the scale was 10 pounds more than it should’ve been. But that’s it. Ten pounds overweight, and I’ve struggled with my self-image ever since. For a while, I quit eating. Starvation works for only so long, though. So I lived on tuna sandwiches. I lost those pounds and then some, but when I looked into the mirror, I saw a fat girl.

Enter God. I discovered that God doesn’t even look at any fat jiggles or tight pants. He goes straight to the heart, and He was wondering why I cared what others thought about me more than what He did. That was a revolutionary thought. By digging into the Bible, I learned that God is more interested in how I look on the inside than the out.

There are days I still struggle with self-image. Who doesn’t? But God is faithful to remind me that this old body of mine will pass away. It’s okay if I eat a dessert now and then. He’ll love me just the same—and always will.

Disability friendliness: Is this latest release available in audio format or do you have any other works available on audio?  Do your e-books have audio capability? Do you have any in large print? 

For now, A HEART DECEIVED is available in eBook or paperback, as is UNDERCURRENT. GALLIMORE, however, is available in large print as well.

In A HEART DECEIVED, do you have any topics useful for bibliotherapy, or therapeutic influence through reading about a disorder or situation?  

There are three issues dealt with in the lives of the three main characters in A HEART DECEIVED…

Hero Ethan Goodwin is an opium addict. In the opening scene, he encounters God via a chance meeting with the Reverend John Newton. Throughout the story, Ethan deals with withdrawal from the drug while learning to depend upon God for his needs instead.

Heroine Miri Brayden has lived her entire life under the dark shadow of verbal abuse. As a result, her self image is nonexistent—until she discovers the love of God as shown through Ethan, and finds out she is a valuable creation.

Roland Brayden is Miri’s brother and is suffering from a debilitating virus causing the deterioration of his mental health. It’s a slow descent into lunacy, one which he occasionally surfaces from, and it frightens him to no end.

Throughout all these difficulties, God is there. It doesn’t mean He waves a magic wand and makes everything better, but it does mean that He changes hearts.

Thank you Michele for agreeing to answer these questions. I think many people struggle with these issues and we don't talk about it enough.

Bio: Michelle Griep’s been writing since she first discovered blank wall space and Crayolas…professionally, however, for the past 10 years. Her latest release, A HEART DECEIVED, is available by David C. Cook. You can find her at: www.writerofftheleash.blogspot.com, www.michellegriep.com or on Twitter, Facebook, or Pinterest.

Giveaway: A copy of any of Michelle's books, your choice of format (international winners ebook only.)  Have you ever struggled with body image?  A sweet tooth?  Leave your comment and your email address to enter.