The joy in April Shipton’s voice when she sings worship songs now shows no hint of her dark past.

As she stood in front of a mirror with self-hatred raging in her heart April heard a voice calling her ‘disgusting’.

That was the curse of anorexia and depression, but April has been healed after reconciling to Jesus Christ. April, a singer-songwriter from Ross-on-Wye has loving, Christian parents but began arguing with her mum when she was 17. In fact, they argued about everything.

April recalled: “I am so grateful for that wholesome, spiritual start in life with my parents. It kept me rooted throughout my childhood years, but as a teenager I rebelled and sought independence from a deteriorating relationship with my mum.”

The tension at home, alongside pressures of comparing herself to others at sixth form, triggered anorexia. April enjoyed the secret of being in control of her body, or so she thought. She’d eat just an apple one day, a bit of toast the next – and liked the attention of people commenting on her weight loss.

At first, April thought she controlled her lack of eating but it soon controlled her as a mental illness.

“In this dysfunctional world I was in, thin was good and fat was wrong. You don’t want to get better when anorexic because if you’re better, you’re fat. And that’s how I saw it.”

April faced her worst nightmare when her GP put her on a course of pills for acne. The medication had a side-effect of weight gain. She continued to skip meals and avoid food but gained weight anyway because of the tablets.

“I just started to absolutely plummet. I looked in the mirror and I was just beside myself. I was hysterical about what I saw in the reflection and I could almost hear voices telling me that I wasn’t good enough and I was disgusting.”

For April the situation got worse when her doctor told her the acne pill had made her officially obese. She broke down in floods of tears in front of the GP and her mum took her home. In the car, on the way back, April told her mum everything about the deceit and control of eating.

Her tearful mum prayed with her and then took her to a mutual friend who had a prayer ministry.

The friend guided April in forgiving anyone who had ever mentioned her weight. She was also led to apologise to Jesus for trying to control her life in her own way. April received prayer for healing and felt free immediately.

The next day, she was able to eat and drink without restriction. She also chose a Fanta drink instead of her usual calorie-free alternatives. It was a landmark for April, who now calls Fanta her ‘freedom drink’.

April concluded: “Jesus’ name is so powerful, so holy, so incomprehensible, that simply speaking it over your situation can bring breakthrough.

“I became free from anorexia immediately, and with it, all the thoughts of self-comparison and pride stopped. I no longer look at others and compare myself to them; I am truly happy in my own skin and feel completely at peace with my appearance.

“Knowing Jesus as the one who literally saved my life that night, it has made me a more thankful person and changed my perception on everything.”

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