This Bod

Our bodies are incredible. I missed the memo on that for a long time.  I still struggle with accepting and letting every word sink in but we take it a day at a time. When we look around at social media and this world in general, it’s difficult to see that our bodies are incredible no matter what color, shape, or size. Truth, it pisses me off. It kills any self confidence that we have in ourselves.  Lord knows many of us don’t come equipped with too much so throw us a bone world! Instead we have to constantly see these ads for diets or workout regimens or anything to lose weight. Don’t get me wrong, being healthy is important but it’s gonna look different for every individual. 

I ran a 10k a few weeks back.  For some, this may seem like nothing, but for me, it was huge. My goal was to just run the whole thing and not worry about the time etc. Really it was to run the whole thing and not die haha! Well, I did run the whole thing and beat my minute time. I was so proud the rest of that day. I saw my body completely different for at least an hour! I mean, let’s be honest, negativity creeps in pretty darn quick so an hour is good. I’m average. My body is average in shape. Is average ok? Well, I want to tell you yes, cause that is truth but difficult to swallow at times.  I’ve fluctuated a million times in my weight throughout the years. I get sucked into every trend, every diet, every self help whatever. In the end, I just end up feeling worse about myself because at some point I fail. Why you ask? Because I’m not loving who I am, where I am. I’m not grasping the amazing beauty that God has created.  Dude, I’ve birthed four children, ran a 10k, overcome a few things in life, and the list goes on. Maybe, just maybe, this body is pretty ok. Maybe, just maybe, so is yours! 

In Psalm 139:14 it says, “I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Ummmm….giving thanks to God for my body sure is a hard one. Because of so many deep, dark wounds, an eating disorder crept up on me pretty quickly in life. I couldn’t, and it’s still difficult, to understand how God can see us so unconditionally beautiful.  Like, with no strings attached. He doesn’t say, when your thighs get a little smaller Heather, then my love for you will start flowing. Nope! Why do we look to others to decide our beauty? Why do we allow others to dictate our worth? I think we should be done with that. I’m just say’n. Now, I speak all of this solely because God is constantly stirring me to fully heal in this area.  You might be like, girl, I’m all walking around naked owning the joint! For that, I applaud you and ask you to deliver some of that goodness my way, with clothes on though. 

I don’t care if you are male or female, black or white, big or small, short or tall, you have an incredible body that can do incredible things.  Sometimes it wants donuts and sometimes it wants kale but either way, those things do not define you. We are defined and built from the hands of perfection.  He molded and created us exactly how he wanted. Walk out of your house today like nothing can stop you because the truth is, nothing really can. Own it! 

“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself.”