You are wonderfully made! – June 30, 2020

Many years ago, I lost a substantial amount of weight and then just kinda settled into my current weight, within 10-15 pounds.

I’m still overweight.
I still wear plus-sized clothes.
I still struggle sometimes to accept my *gross* arms and *gross* legs.

I have the potential to be a lifelong yo-yo dieter; I’m a recovering perfectionist and a high achiever. There was a season in which I spent my days bent over the toilet, throwing up everything that I’d eaten because I wanted to be like other girls.

But…

I’m not like other girls. And neither are you.
I’m not defined by my weight. And neither are you.
I work on being healthy, which may or may not lead to weight loss. And I hope you are working on that, too.

As a natural caretaker and nurturer, I had to learn to turn some of that caretaking inward on my own heart, spirit, and body. I learned that taking care of me didn’t mean living up to the standards society set for me, or what my family said, or even my friends.

Taking care of me means feeling good, being healthy (body, spirit, mind), and finding some joy every day. End of sentence. None of that says that I have to look a certain way or weigh a specific number.

Some of us will struggle with the sight of ourselves for our entire lifetime. I hope I don’t. And I really hope you don’t either. I don’t want any of us to reach the end of our journey on Earth and wish we’d just loved ourselves exactly how we were created. I don’t want any of us to wish we’d not been so hard on ourselves to achieve something that really didn’t matter in the big scheme of things.

I do hope that each of us comes to a place of health – whatever that means for you and your own body – and happiness. I hope we all learn to value who we see in the mirror regardless of the number on the scale. I hope we all find people who will cheer us on when we’re feeling particularly funkalicious. I hope we all come to know how loved we are, just as we are. I hope we all remember that our Creator didn’t make a mistake with us. We have been wonderfully made, friends.

Advertisement