Sometimes we dislike our body for small reasons. Silly reasons. Treating it in ways we would never treat someone else’s body. Let’s learn to be kind and give our body grace? Appreciating the good thing it is.
I am slouching against my sister’s kitchen counter. Talking, before we tackle making dinner. I am Happy to be in her presence, as we live 3000 miles apart.
She is 13 years younger than me, but we both share red hair, an abundance of freckles, and the urge to tell stories to make a point.
“Just a week ago I was standing in my kitchen with three of my friends,” she begins, “complaining about summer and swimsuits and how much our bodies have changed since childbirth.” She pats her no longer svelte tummy, running her arm mid air up and down her womanly torso and thighs to illustrate her point. Her willowy teenage body has matured.
“We were right here,” she gestures toward the table, “analyzing and complaining about how self-conscious we were as teens about our stomachs—back when we didn’t even have a stomach or know what stretch marks were. Imagine us bemoaning our bodies—our perfect breasts and thighs as teens?”
Her animated face breaks into a giggle. “Little did we know that compared to now, we looked like rock stars. We didn’t even appreciate what we had.”
Our laughter mingles, and our heads mirror in nodding. We have stepped back into our teenage concerns that seemed so earth rocking back then.
“If we had known as a teen or barely twenty-something that our looks and body were changing and fading faster than dandelion seeds in a strong wind,” she adds, “would we have been so loathsome of our bodies? So quick to find fault, compare, pick apart, and expect perfection? We were closer to it then than we would ever be again!”
“It’s only in hindsight we realize,” I say.
She nods, waving her expressive hands.
“That’s when I said to my friends,” she continues, “We need to stop comparing and complaining about our bodies right now, because they sure aren’t getting any younger. Any fitter. We need to appreciate and love them the way they are right now. Because tomorrow they will be one day older. One day more wrinkled. One day more everything.”
“So true,” I agree.
The rest of this post appears on Kindred Mom, click here to read the rest.
Thanks for stopping by. Keep appreciating your body and all the good it does for you and others.
Theresa
Join the Discussion: What helps you appreciate your body more?
May link up at Crystal Storms (#HeartEncouragement), Maree Dee (#Grace & Truth), Anita Ojeda (#inspirememonday), InstaEncouagements ((IE Link-Up), and Jeanne Takenaka (#tellhisstory).
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So appreciated your podcast message, and yes! I have noticed the same. Those young women we used to be had NO idea what was ahead of us!
Yup, no idea at all. But then I think that goes for most things in life. Hindsight is so valuable.
Yep. It does no one any good to berate the home our spirit has here on earth. So hard though.
It is hard. So many things promote us to compare ourselves and be dissatisfied with what we have.
This is truly a challenge — the recognition of the beauty of our bodies at every age, beginning with our adolescence, when we were doing so much comparison, to our childbearing years, when we realize our flat tummy is gone forever, and then to our old age, when we see our worry wrinkles and our glare-of-the-sun wrinkles from all of those baseball and soccer games we attended. Our body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and one day it will be new again. Those realities are what carry me through. I embrace all of the above as the evidence of having lived a full and blessed life.
Hi Melinda, Yes, knowing our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit is so good. God doesn’t look at our bodies the way we do, noticing the flaws and wondering where our youth has gone. There is no requirement we have to meet before he comes to live within us or with us. In fact her is endeared to the wrinkled, the flawed, and broken. I doubt any of the apostle could have been Instagram influencers praised for their chiseled chins, washboard abs, or windswept hair. God praises them for their heart and attitude. Their faith, hope, and character. If only we could see ourselves the way God sees us, we would quit worrying about our tummy, toes, and teeth.
Hey, Friend! I sorely needed this! And I had to laugh. When I met you for the first time this summer, and then for our lunch date, I thought how youthful you look, and how cute and flattering your outfits were (which is still true). But it’s that personal image we have of ourselves that matters, the one we have unfortunately allowed others to craft in us for the most part. I think we must go shopping together and hopefully your new resolve will rub off on me and become my new mantra. Thanks for being so candid! See you soon<:
Aww Alice. We never know what a person’s tender point is? I think the enemy works overtime trying to get us dissatisfied with ourselves, whether it is our flaws or our bodies. And yet God sees all of us as lovely. He’s not looking at our size or age. He’s to busy loving us and cheering us on. Yes, let’s go clothes shopping.
Theresa, such a good post! As women, body image is a popular target of the enemy of our souls. God created a women’s body to be beautiful in every season! Image carrying and giving birth to new life; yes it takes its toll on our “appearance”, but as the temple of the Holy Spirit we can rejoice at all God allows us to accomplish with the miracle that is the human body.
Donna, the enemy does like to target our bodies and image of ourselves. Maybe because our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made. I think of all the extraordinary things my body has done and survived. Sickness, broken bones, childbirth, hiking mountains, walking 2o miles in a day, cooking, serving, dancing, and more. Our bodies are not to be beautiful walking billboards, but used to serve and give to others and bring us and others joy. We can rejoice in our bodies.
When I was in my early twenties, I kept my calories so low that a stick of sugar free gum was counted! Funny though is that everyone else had a wonderful body no matter what body type, but mine was never good enough. So I am glad that I now accept my body much better than I did then. My hope is that my grand daughter does not criticize her body as much as I did. How can we help the next generation of girls accept themselves fully? “Motion is lotion” and my goal is to be moving well into my later life to hike and bike and skate! So doing what I enjoy makes me appreciate my body more!
Oh Lynn, so sad about the gum and depriving your body food. I agree. Every woman is beautiful and we need variety. How boring it would be if we looked all the same. I too worry about our granddaughters accepting themselves, loving their bodies. “Motion is lotion.” Haven’t heard of this, but it is catchy. Moving and keeping active does help us appreciate our bodies. Thanks for visiting, and keep skating, Theresa.