Ten Year Challenge

Posted on by beautybeyondbones

I’ll tell you what, internet culture is a fascinating thing.

The way in which viral trends can literally sweep the globe in a mere matter of minutes is nothing short of miraculous.

Everything from planking, to gangnam style, to the ice bucket challenge, to KiKi-ing, to the mannequin challenge…it seems like every couple of months, a new craze is flashing across our desktops, each one more ridiculous than the next.

Photo: Voolas

Well, if you’ve spent any time online in the last week, you know that, yet again, another fad is making the rounds. This time, originating on ye olde Book of Faces…The 10 Year Challenge.

If you’ve somehow missed it, people are sharing photos of themselves, from 10 years ago, along side a recent photo from today, to see “How Hard Aging Hit You.”

Photo: Harper’s Bazaar

And while some conspiracy theorists are saying that this is just a data mining ploy for facial recognition software advancement, you can’t deny: there has been some pretty premium content, as a result. I mean, some of the photos celebrities are posting are pretty priceless.

Phtot: RyanSeacrest Instagram

But I’m going to be honest: sitting here as a young woman, who has been in recovery from anorexia for ten years now — looking back at old photos, and going back to that time — it’s a painful exercise.

Because even though my recovery is thriving, and I am embracing the abundance of joy and life that God is calling me to, there is still a lot of pain in my past. And even though I have been forgiven and freed, looking at it — literally in the face — is not something I want to do, let alone blast on the internet.

Close the doors that lead to nowhere. - BeautyBeyondBones From her MUST READ post, Ten Year Challenge #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #recovery #faith #catholic #quotes

But, of course, as often happens, my curiosity got the best of me, and I found myself one chilly weekday night, scrolling through my private Facebook albums, hidden in the dungeon under lock and key, and looking at my photos from ten years ago.

And it wasn’t fun. I’m not going to sit here and tell you that, Oh, I had this earth shattering experience that resulted in me billboarding it across social media that I LOVE ME! 

Because…no, that didn’t happen. The fact is, the photos I saw – they were of a girl, fresh out of inpatient treatment, and in the midst of a relapse.

Relapse is a really scary word, that I don’t often talk about. Probably because of my struggle with pride, but I hate to admit that I “failed” that first round of recovery. Or maybe because I’m afraid that people will think I could relapse again. I don’t know. And to that end, I will just say that, I think that relapse is nothing to be ashamed of. Recovery is a marathon, and a journey. And I personally believe that relapse is part of the process. You’re going to have hiccups and slip ups, but that doesn’t mean that you’ve failed. It means that you’re trying. And getting up the next morning, and rededicating yourself to your recovery is part of the growing process.

Something will grow from what you are going through, and it will be you. - BeautyBeyondBones From her MUST READ post, Ten Year Challenge #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #recovery #faith #catholic #quotes

My relapse, it was more than just a hiccup. It was an entire semester of my first attempt at college in South Carolina, where, arguably, my anorexia gripped me tighter than before. And not only did my weight and health plummet, but my hair fell out again, for the second time.

So looking at those photos of my hairless, hurting, self, I felt a sense of deep sadness, for the destructive life that girl thought she deserved.

But then, as He so often does, the Holy Spirit swooped into my heart, before I could start down that terrible road of “coulda/woulda/shouldas.” And I don’t really know how else to say it, so just…here’s what was placed on my heart:

There is so much more to my story, than can be captured in a stupid Facebook post of my two photos pinned, side by side.

BeautyBeyondBones - the difference recovery makes. The difference Jesus makes. #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #wellness
Sick vs. Healthy

There is so much life that was lived. So many lessons learned. So much growth that occurred between those years that no photo could ever, ever be able to capture.

Some progress can't be captured in a photo. - BeautyBeyondBones From her MUST READ post, Ten Year Challenge #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #recovery #faith #catholic #quotes

I feel like I have lived a thousand lifetimes in that 10 year span!

The woman today is a result of the challenges and trials I went though – The relationship I established with our Father – The surrender to His plan – The plodding and trudging through the mud of hard work that is recovery.

In that ten year span, I had the incredibly difficult task of restoring my then osteopenic, severely malnourished, and nearly destroyed body. The road to becoming the healthy young woman I am today – was a long and arduous process, that only through Jesus’s help was I able to do.

In those then years, I’ve learned how to take care of myself. Not only have I fallen in love with nourishing my body, but I’ve adopted a therapeutic diet that has healed that Ulcerative Colitis, and I am now in my 7th year of remission, symptom and medication free.

And I’ve found peace with my story! And have embraced it to the point of sharing it with others in a book, with the hopes of helping even one person.

None of those things can be seen in that photo of a sick, hopeless, and terrified girl who is hiding behind a smile, and hanging on for dear life.

And most importantly, none of that growth could have been possible, without one very important person: Jesus.

You are a new creation. The old has gone. The new has come. - BeautyBeyondBones From her MUST READ post, Ten Year Challenge #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #recovery #faith #catholic #quotes

It was only until I gave my recovery to Him, and surrendered all my fears and anxieties into His hands, that I left the eating disorder – and the desire to relapse – behind for good. It was His comfort – His strength – His guidance that I clung to in those moments where I felt I could not go on another day.

I young woman I am today: she’s a fighter. She’s an overcomer. And together, with Jesus, we’ve clawed tooth and nail to emerge from the pit of hell I was in, depicted in that photograph.

There is nothing I will face today, that Jesus & I cannot get through, together.

You, too, friend, are more than your photographic history.

There is a depth to you that cannot be captured in an image, because you are a dynamic, soulful, work of art, that is constantly being shaped by the Father’s masterful hands.

He is never finished. No story is ever over. It has only just begun. Let’s look ahead to the next ten years, and pray for the transformation that He will facilitate in our lives, one day at a time.

You are allowed to be both a masterpiece and a work in progress, simultaneously. - BeautyBeyondBones From her MUST READ post, Ten Year Challenge #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #recovery #faith #catholic #quotes


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Don't start today with the broken pieces of yesterday. Today is new. - BeautyBeyondBones From her MUST READ post, Ten Year Challenge #10yearchallenge #edrecovery #recovery #faith #catholic #quotes

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beautybeyondbones

BBB: Because we're all recovering from something. // For speaking/business inquiries: beautybeyondbones@yahoo.com

187 thoughts on “Ten Year Challenge”

  1. I pray your story makes an impact on everyone who reads it. We are all so much more than our histories and saved by the grace of God. You have a beautiful way with words and I’m glad to have stumbled across your blog.

    (PS… age showing… what is KiKi-ing??? Anyone? )

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    1. Thank you so much Lindsey! haha KiKiing is from the Drake Song, “Kiki do you love me?” And it’s a video of doing a dance outside of a car. lol very strange when you actually spell it out like that hahahahahah thanks for your encouramgent! hugs xo

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  2. It’s these stories of redemption that are meant to be told! I commend you in your journey! I’m in recovery of a different sort but understand the fight just the same! Praise be to God.

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  3. Yess! Thank you for sharing how far you’ve come. Healing from an eating disorder is such an arduous journey. But praise God for the way He has used your life as a testimony of His goodness and healing power 🙂

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    1. Hey there Mitch! oh gosh, thank you so much. I am so grateful for your friendship 🙂 Yes! To the next ten, for both of us! 🙂 big hugs xo

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  10. I, too, did not want to do the comparison on facebook or on any social media platform. I see pain but I also see growth to who I am. No picture can explain that nor do I want it explained in public. I rather see a therapist for that. 😛 As always, you are spot on and I enjoyed your post.

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  11. This was a fanatastic post! So true – God can transform what seems to be untransformable. I too was in a dark place ten years ago and had no wish to revisit that time. My mother, best friend, and third parent to my children had just had a storke. 38 days later she died after never having regained consciousness. It utterly destroyed me and much of the time that follows that month in the hospital with her is a blur – My children were small 2, 5, & 7 and even still, I could not shake the cavernous depression that gripped me. Ten years later, though the weight of her loss still catches in my throat, threatening to choke me at times, I am stronger. God comforted me and filled a hole in my heart so large I thought it was unfillable. Thank you for your post. By the way – your beauty shines from within and I’m glad to have found your page.

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    1. Hi friend, oh gosh I am so sorry for your loss. Oh friend my heart breaks to hear what you and your family went through. I’m sending you the biggest hug in the world. I’m so glad that you’ve found comfort and strength in God. He is with you today and every day. I pray that you feel His loving arms around you. Love you friend. Thanks for sharing your heart. Big big hugs xox

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  12. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us all! Every one of your posts shows that you are a beautiful young woman and a beautiful soul. The ten year challenge… I never really pay that much attention to those internet challenges anymore. Mostly, they are so silly… but now, thanks to your post, I know I am going to go down memory lane. 🙂
    Thank you also for reading my humble posts.

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  14. Well I never took part in the 10 year challenge because I never took many pictures of myself back then and I still don’t … LOL..
    But this is a great post Caralyn.. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

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    1. Hi Paola. Thank you for sharing your story. I am so glad that you have embraced the recovered life that God has for you!! And gosh I cannot tell you how touched I am by that. Thank you, friend. Praise God!! You and I are worth recovery and the abundance of joy and life that He brings with it! 🙂 Hugs and love xox

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  19. Another beautifully written article. I don’t know you, but I am very to happy to see the progress you have made. Never forget that Heavenly Father is aware of all his children. Thanks you for using your gifts to spread positive and uplifting messges.

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  21. Yes we the people embracing each new internet craze Its yet to be determine if this is unhealthy or just a faze, are we sinking into an emotional maze. Your story intensifies then indeed clarify what the photos don’t say, in each of us their is a 10 yr story from tragedy to glory but what will never be the same! those two faces with the name.

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    1. Hey there friend! Thanks so much for your kind words. You’re right! Tragedy to glory! God is so good! Hugs and love xox

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  23. To say you are brave is a huge understatement I never bother with the viral crazes Maybe if someone started one that would actually HELP people I might Something like Donate a Dollar today to ….. Just think how many millions could be raised😁

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  29. Just want to say how refreshing your blog is. Nice to hear such purity and freedom from anger in your tone and that of those who leave comments. Refreshing to not hear the vitriol and foulness that are found in so many blogs. Thanks and God bless you and your readers.

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