When you look into the mirror, what are some of the first thoughts that pop into your head? I know that for me I used to look into the mirror and saw different adjustments I need to make with my appearance. What I should do to look more attractive, thinner, and more beautiful? I need to work out more, eat less, more make up, more time on my hair... There were moments of my life as a teenager when I didn't love my body. I would try out different diets and work out routines that weren't healthy. Sometimes I hardly ate so that I would lose weight and obsessed about food so much that I was on the verge of an eating disorder. It was at that time that I knew that I needed to change.
I had to learn to love my body again. A few years ago I began to do "intuitive eating" which is where one simply learns to listen to their body. You eat until you are full and do your best to make healthy choices. No diets. No obsessing. Portion sizes. If I wanted a treat, I would enjoy one and then move on with my day. Food was again placed where it belonged in my life. I tried to also find a balance with exercising. I worked out each day, which improved my physical and mental health. I started to look in the mirror and love the girl that I saw. I felt great because I was taking care of myself.
I still have my days when I don't like what I see in the mirror, but then I have to remind myself whose I am. God gave me this body and I can walk, talk, hear, see, feel and even run! I am healthy and I have a beautiful life to live with this body. It truly is an incredible gift and I always need to treat it that way.
How do you see your body?
Because the devil doesn't have a body, he wants to encourage us to make bad decisions with ours. Through drugs, food, sex, and other enticements he works to take away our control over our bodies. The positive thing in all of this is that it is our choice whether or not we listen to that voice. We can choose to love and care for our body, thus showing God our appreciation for what he gave us. We can stop comparing ourselves or trying to look like the "ideal" and rather love ourselves in the package we came.
God didn't make us all one color, shape, or size because we are each uniquely beautiful. I know that sounds cliche but this is something EVERYONE struggles with. Wanting to be thinner, have more muscles, longer hair, different nose, further apart eyes...whatever it is, we must learn to love ourselves. I wish I could go back in time and tell that young teenage girl how beautiful she was and that she didn't need to change to impress anyone. She just needed to love herself and do her best to be kind to her body. What mattered most was what God thought of her and he loved her how she was.
Challenge: Each morning this week look in the mirror and name one positive quality you like about your physical appearance and say "I am a daughter/son of God."
(It sounds cliche, but you should honestly try it and then see your confidence grow!)
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