One word to describe your body...

I came across a post tonight on Facebook that adverstised a documentary on how women view themselves. As I watched it, I was shocked to hear that out of 100 random women interviewed, not one woman had something positive to say about her body. They were asked to use one word to describe their bodies and the responses included words like ugly, fat, disgusting, flabby, unattractive, pale, and gross.

Wow, that sounds familiar. Those words swirl around in my head very often. I've always had a very poor self image. I was overweight as a child which is where the low self esteem began, I believe. But even in high school, when I was barely 100 pounds, I thought I was fat. These days, as my belly grows and grows, along with the rest of my body it seems, I have found myself avoiding mirrors and constantly putting myself down. I know this isn't how God wants me to see myself or treat myself, but for some reason I just continue to do it. Apparently, I'm not the only one. According to the documentary I mentioned above, most women feel this way about their bodies.

I heard another thing in the documentary that really struck me. The lady speaking showed a picture of her daughter and she said, "How am I supposed to teach my daughter to love her body when I hate mine?" When she said that it hit me-- I am going to have a daughter soon! How will I teach her to love her body, to say kind words to herself and to value herself regardless of the way she looks if I don't do those things? I don't have the answer. I don't know how I'll do that but I do know that something in me has to change so that I can be a better influence on my daughter. I don't want her to hate her body the way I do. Since almost 100% of women do, the odds are already against her. I need to do all I can to build her up and encourage her.  I've got to start praying for her even now, before she takes her first breath. I've got to take better care of myself and realize that my worth comes from my Father, not from the size of my clothing. I've got to remember the old adage, "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all" when it comes to speaking to myself as well as others. I've got to realize that my body was made for a purpose not to look a specific way and right now, it is fulfilling that purpose by growing another life. 

Today I am thankful for the advertisement I saw earlier tonight. I'm not happy that all women hate their bodies but it does give me a new perspective on comparing myself to others. We're all in the same boat really so instead of wishing I looked like someone else, I need to pray that woman would see her beauty as well. I am also thankful for that profound question, "how will I teach my daughter to love her body when I hate mine?" That is such a big question that I need to ponder and pray over. I am grateful that its been brought to my attention now, before Allison even enters the world, so that I might start having a better self image, for her sake and mine. I am thankful that God created me in His image and He loves me even with all the cellulite and my desperate need for a tan. I am grateful that my worth comes from Him and if I focus on Him and how HE sees me, it will change everything.