Woman's Response When An Old 'Friend' Comment On Her Weight

Inspiring Response To A Rude Comment About Her Weight

Running into old friends can be great -- catching up, chatting about old times, etc. But sadly, that wasn't the case for blogger Kathy Sebright. While she was genuinely excited about the run in, that quickly changed when a mean remark was made about her weight. But the blog post inspired by the unfortunate incident has a powerful message everyone should hear! Credit: ThinkStock

Kathy's Journey

You see, Kathy has been through some pretty tough times. It didn't start out that way. She married her high school sweetheart, gave birth to two sweet boys and discovered a passion for running. Life was good. Credit: kathysebright.com But then her youngest son, Emmett, started having seizures. At just 14 months old, he was diagnosed with Craniosynostosis -- a birth defect where one or more of the joints between the bones of a baby's skull prematurely close before the baby's brain is finished growing. And it threw Kathy's world into a tailspin. Credit: Facebook / Kathy Sebright

God Delivered Her

Kathy says that she found God "accidentally" through her running. And it was that faith that pulled her through the extremely difficult time.

"God did not heal Emmett, but He gave me the strength to hold onto hope for the future," she says.

The experience left Kathy feeling older and wiser. She felt God calling her to connect with others facing depression and dark times. It's why she shares her life experiences so openly on her blog and in her books. [rsnippet id="3" name="Article-Ad"] Even with all of that progress and growth, an encounter with an old friend just goes to show how much truth there is to Proverbs 18:21:

"Death and life are in the power of the tongue; those who love it will eat its fruit."

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An Unexpected Comment

On a hot and humid 4th of July, Kathy and her family had joined their church in passing out popsicles to the community during a parade. Credit: kathysebright.com Kathy was sweaty, but beaming when she cheerfully handed a popsicle to a familiar face in the crowd -- someone she hadn't seen in years. As she turned to continue on, she could hear this person as they turned to someone else to say, "she put on a lot of weight." And that one sentence wrecked her.

"I sat with it for 2 days," she writes. "I didn’t say a word to anyone about it, not even my husband, because I was embarrassed. Because I felt ashamed. Because most of all they were right. I mean yes, they were right. But in those short few seconds they saw me, they didn’t really see me. They chose to see just one thing. My weight. Not me. They only saw my weight."

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Beyond The Weight

There was so much more to Kathy's story. All she'd been through, everything she'd overcome that this old "friend" couldn't see.

"This is what insomnia can do to you. This is what it looks like when you watch your heart and soul – your child suffer from unimaginable pain. This is what long term, chronic stress and worry looks like. This is what someone that has been on the edge one too many times looks like."

And through all of the stress and hard times, Kathy admits she turned to food for comfort. But her weight -- this one thing -- didn't define her.

"And just because I have put on this weight does not make me any less of a person. It does not mean I am not worthy, not interesting, or not important. . .And just because I have put on this weight does not mean I am weak, out of shape, or unhealthy."

Credit: Facebook / Kathy Sebright And as Kathy pondered all of the things she wanted to say to the person who'd made such a rude comment about her weight, she suddenly asked herself an important question. Why do I care? RELATED: A teen with severe psoriasis accepts herself as she is

A True Friend

Kathy realized that she'd allowed one person's insensitive comment to take root, and that she'd allowed it to completely undo her. She'd been criticizing and berating herself ever since, rather than dismissing it as she should have to begin with. So, she decided to do something -- something we should all do.

"I will honestly and truly treat myself like a friend would. That’s what I want for you too. I want you to see yourself for how amazing you are. I want you to see that it does not matter if you are a few pounds heavier than you want to be. It does not make you any less beautiful. What makes you beautiful is you. Who you are. Not some arbitrary number. Not the way your critics may see you, but the way the ones that love you see you. What an amazing thing that would be – to finally see ourselves the way our loved ones do. The way we should be seen. That is the hope. That is the goal."

Be sure to read Kathy's full post on her blog by clicking HERE. What a reminder of the power our words can have. Looks can be deceiving, and you never really know what another person may be going through. Let's use our words to uplift, not to tear down. Kathy's story is also an important reminder that we should not be overly concerned of how others see us. We are measured by God's view of us, and He sees far more than what's seen by the eye!

“And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” Ephesians 4:24

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When a man drove past and called her fat, this female jogger's response had me cheering!

  Credit: KathySebright.com