A few days ago, I found myself craving something…something that wasn’t pre-packed in my lunch for work and something that I hadn’t had in who knows how long but I caught a craving. And the more I tried to ignore it, the more I found my body wanting it.
A milkshake.
Correction…an Oreo Milkshake straight from Cold Stone (a highly overpriced creamery but so worth the stomach cramping I was doomed to have).
It was almost lunch time at work and I had a strong dilemma on my hands…do I eat the pre-packed lunch of ground beef with white rice and soy sauce or do I venture out in search of this deliciously random craving that apparently I so desperately wanted.
As my internal battle of foods kept playing out in my head, I felt my body shift and no, this wasn’t the grumbling of the stomach.
…I sucked in my stomach.
I did it, ladies. I’m not proud of it but I caught myself thinking, “actually, I’ll just skip this lunch…I’m sure I can just drink water and fill up on that instead.”
I didn’t want the pooch.
Did you know there are over 40 million results when you search “how to get rid of belly fat” on google?
197 million results for “how to get rid of loose skin”.
22 million results for “how to get rid of stretch marks”.
8.9 million results for “how to get rid of cellulite”.
3.2 million results for “how to get rid of hip dips”.
Honestly, how often has this internal dialogue played out in your head?
We are all guilty of it whether we were to admit it or not. The air becomes warmer, slightly more humid than only a month ago. Marketing campaigns shift from “Spring is in full bloom” to “turn up the heat with these new trends!”. Teachers are wrapping up lesson plans. The kiddos are about to sign up for summer camps. Trips are being finalized. Flights are being booked and you can practically smell the tanning oil in the air.
Summer is upon us.
And as beautiful as the sun feels kissing the skin, there’s something buried deep inside that starts creeping to the surface. It crawls up from the great depths of hibernation and inches it’s way to the little part of your brain you so desperately wish it wouldn’t.
It’s ingrained in us to want to get rid of these things…to feel ashamed of having loose skin or seeing cellulite and wish our skin was as smooth and nipped and tucked as Becky from the block (sorry to all you Becky’s out there). It’s ingrained in us because of the posed or edited photos we scroll through on a daily basis or the highlight reels of people’s lives. It’s ingrained because of the messages we have allowed ourselves to consume daily whether that be from social media or from our peers talking so negatively about their own body.
We start to wonder why our lives don’t look the same…why our bodies don’t look the same.
Our internal dialogue starts to ponder and wonder and convince us that our life, our body, our career, or our relationships are no longer good enough.
But Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-27, 32-34:
“I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
. . . For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.“
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
We have heard it many times over that our body is His temple and how God created us in His own image…but to be quite frank, these verses have been over-used and over-stated so much so that I believe we have become non-receptive to it.
We say these words then worry about our wrinkles. We read these words but don’t want to wear shorts in 90 degree weather for fear of showing our cellulite. We hear these words but doubt our image.
Hi, uhm hello…reread what Jesus just said about you.
“God created man in HIS OWN IMAGE, in the image of God he created him, male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:27
So why is it then we decide to doubt His creation of you or I?
Why do we suck in to look thinner, deny ourselves nourishment to avoid calories, go on these fad diets and take medical shots to curve appetites, or try on a million different clothes only to decide on leggings and an oversized shirt to hide our curves?
Why do we scrutinize our bodies as if we were all made to look the same, act the same, feel the same, and be the same?
Coming from someone who has struggled on and off with body imaging herself, let me be the first to remind you…
Wear the shorts or the dress that shows some cellulite or loose skin. You’re beautifully and wonderfully made…hand crafted by the King of all Kings!
Nourish your body not because you want to be thin, but because your body is His temple and to nourish it means to grow it and to grow it means to grow into He made you to be!
Look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself “I am created in His image”.
Because you are!
And for the love of all that is delicious in this world, drink the dang milkshake. Why? Because you deserve to have sweet delights and the comfort in feeling good in your own skin again.
Next time you notice your internal dialogue start to have a negative impact on the way you view yourself…take a deep breathe and choose 3 reasons you are grateful to have the body that you have.
What does this look like, you might ask? Well, let’s go back to my issue a few days ago having the internal dilemma about an Oreo Milkshake.
When I noticed I subconsciously sucked in my stomach, sitting down might I add, I pulled out my phone. No, I didn’t head to social media. Instead, I went to my notes section and wrote this:
- I’m grateful my body can do hard things
- I’m grateful that God created this body just for me
- I’m grateful my body was made in the image of the King of all Kings
After this, I took a deep breathe. I grabbed my keys and headed out the door. I walked to my car and just sat there for a second…thanking God for the way He created me. Peace swept around me and as I was eating my ground beef with white rice, I pulled into Cold Stone and treated myself to the dang milkshake.
Be kind to yourself. There’s only one of you. He designed you and handcrafted you and determined that the world needed you.
It’s time you see yourself the way God sees you.
Simply Blooming Grace 