Weighing Your Worth

So I thought (after extensive conversations and insights from friends) this deserved a blog. I needed to write about it and I figured many women out there needed to start thinking about it. Topic? Comparing your weight to your worth. Even further... Comparing any "negative" aspect of your body to your beauty and value as a woman.

This subject has been a hot topic for me lately. I've been running every day, eating healthy, and getting the right amount of sleep, yet cannot seem to lose weight. Why do I need to lose weight? Because I have been conditioned to think that beauty lies in flawless skin, a tight, fit body (with great breasts and a full backside), and a good haircut. Throw in a cute outfit and a woman is GOLDEN. And honestly, I'm starting to think that this ideal of beauty is a load of crap.

For the past few months I have avoided contact with mirrors. When I catch a glimpse of myself before a shower or as I dress in the morning, I shrug my shoulders and think, "Well, at least God is pleased with me" or "At least I have a good heart." Is it wrong to be in love with your soul? NO. But is it okay to shrug off your body so as to focus totally on your heart? No... it's not.

God made us fully woman. And ladies, He saw that "it was good." ALL OF IT. Your cellulite and your stretch marks and your overbite. Your flat chest and your curves and your blue eyes. Your amazon curly hair and the veins on the back of your legs. Your wrinkles and your acne and your button nose. Your dry skin and your flat feet and your stomach and the extra 10 pounds on your thighs. He saw it was good. He saw it was perfect. And then we threw it all away for Cosmopolitan, a low-cut t-shirt, and a fake tan (because apparently God didn't think our porcelain skin was beautiful when He made it).

We tell our daughters, our sisters, and our mothers about the latest diets we have tried to shed those extra pounds. We no longer work out for the sake of being healthy, we do it to "look our best." But what if looking our best is right now? What if we have ALWAYS looked our best? And what if, instead of teaching our daughters to watch their weight, we taught them to love their curves (or lack thereof) and embrace the goodness God made them in?

I know it is going to take a lot of work. Looking in the mirror and embracing the shape we were made in is going to take a lot of effort. But it is a challenge I am willing to accept. I am not telling everyone to go out and chow down on fast food every day for the rest of their lives. I am simply inviting women everywhere to make their body a temple for Him. Be healthy for Him. And do not avoid the mirror... for His sake. He formed you so beautifully.