“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14).
Does a glance through a fashion magazine or trying on clothes at the mall bring you down? You’re in good company. The message conveyed is always the same, “If you aren’t this skinny, sexy or swanky you’re not lovable.” Advertisers masterfully perpetrate a standard so few will achieve while convincing us to spend mega bucks trying.
We’re brain washed into believing if we become sculpted airbrushed models we’ll be happy because being you is miserable. Discouraged we numb our sadness with a pint of our favorite ice cream while watching mindless television. “If only I’d been born with the pretty gene”, we tell ourselves. Guess what? You were!
The God of all creation and the lover of your soul formed you for a unique purpose. Your DNA is like no other; and no one body shape or size is superior in God’s eyes. His plan for the person whose body is racked with disease is just as perfect as the fastest Olympic runner. We waste precious time and energy trying to be the carbon copy of someone we idolize instead of the best version of ourselves. The Father doesn’t want us to wallow in self-preoccupation and self-deprecation. There is a better way.
Look to Jesus for your self-worth, not the mixed messages of a fickle fallen world. Fashion statements come and go, but God’s Word stands firm forever. Write down Scriptures that tell of His love for you, and that He sees you as beautiful in His sight. Meditate on His promises and know in your heart that what God says about you is true, not what mankind says.
Whether you are a “stick chick” who gracefully wears the latest skinny jeans, or a delicious “curvalicious” gal who has never owned anything labeled skinny in her life, ask Jesus to help you believe that you are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. Pray for a balanced perspective on taking care of your body, and a vision about the life God created you for. He will heal your insecurities if you lean on Him daily. As God’s born again babe all your beauty secrets are in the Bible. It contains your spiritual makeup but you have to apply it. “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well” (Psalm 139:14).
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
Monday, May 30, 2011
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Borrowed Happiness
“Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and out stretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
The following post is an excerpt from my Amazon bestseller, My Heart’s Desire: A Journey Toward Finding Extravagant Love.
Thirty-nine, single, with a fast-ticking biological clock; I wasn’t prepared for a threat to my fertility. For years I had borrowed the happiness of my friends who were moms, rejoicing in their pregnancy and child rearing tales while imagining my own. Fit and a born cheerleader, I was the one people looked to for diet and exercise advice coupled with encouragement. But my confidence evaporated when my doctor said, “You have several tumors and should consider a hysterectomy”. Life as I’d known it was about to change.
As tears flooded my eyes thoughts careened around my dazed mind. Barren, cursed, infertile, were these dreaded words my new title? This isn’t supposed to happen to me. I’d make a great wife and mom! Where is God? Is He mad at me? Frightened and alone I didn’t care that the odds were against me. Deciding to fight the conventional wisdom that I should sanction this drastic surgical measure, I chose a natural and holistic approach. Miracles happen all the time; maybe I’ll be healed if I direct enough positive energy to the right channels of my body. It’s my body; I’m in control!
Over the next four years I embarked on a self-directed path of physical restoration. I had no idea this road of sorrow and pain was God’s route for my soul’s salvation. Constantly I questioned my fate. How could I ever be happy if I’m single and childless? Don’t I deserve to have my heart’s desire? Haven’t I done more good than evil in my life? Why would God torture me if He loves me? My performance oriented people pleaser brain believed God would reward me if I “behaved well”; I had no peace. Convinced the greatest tragedy I could suffer was a solo existence, I made marriage and motherhood an idol to be worshiped and praised above all else.
Life was a treadmill of activities and rituals designed to earn God’s favor in return for answered prayers. With no husband in sight, my resolve waned as my stomach bulged under the weight of the fast-growing tumors. Exhausted from emotionally holding up myself I waved my flag of surrender and stepped down from my throne. Collapsing into the arms of Jesus my healing would come, but not in a way that fit my paradigms. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was exactly what I needed. “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and out stretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
The following post is an excerpt from my Amazon bestseller, My Heart’s Desire: A Journey Toward Finding Extravagant Love.
Thirty-nine, single, with a fast-ticking biological clock; I wasn’t prepared for a threat to my fertility. For years I had borrowed the happiness of my friends who were moms, rejoicing in their pregnancy and child rearing tales while imagining my own. Fit and a born cheerleader, I was the one people looked to for diet and exercise advice coupled with encouragement. But my confidence evaporated when my doctor said, “You have several tumors and should consider a hysterectomy”. Life as I’d known it was about to change.
As tears flooded my eyes thoughts careened around my dazed mind. Barren, cursed, infertile, were these dreaded words my new title? This isn’t supposed to happen to me. I’d make a great wife and mom! Where is God? Is He mad at me? Frightened and alone I didn’t care that the odds were against me. Deciding to fight the conventional wisdom that I should sanction this drastic surgical measure, I chose a natural and holistic approach. Miracles happen all the time; maybe I’ll be healed if I direct enough positive energy to the right channels of my body. It’s my body; I’m in control!
Over the next four years I embarked on a self-directed path of physical restoration. I had no idea this road of sorrow and pain was God’s route for my soul’s salvation. Constantly I questioned my fate. How could I ever be happy if I’m single and childless? Don’t I deserve to have my heart’s desire? Haven’t I done more good than evil in my life? Why would God torture me if He loves me? My performance oriented people pleaser brain believed God would reward me if I “behaved well”; I had no peace. Convinced the greatest tragedy I could suffer was a solo existence, I made marriage and motherhood an idol to be worshiped and praised above all else.
Life was a treadmill of activities and rituals designed to earn God’s favor in return for answered prayers. With no husband in sight, my resolve waned as my stomach bulged under the weight of the fast-growing tumors. Exhausted from emotionally holding up myself I waved my flag of surrender and stepped down from my throne. Collapsing into the arms of Jesus my healing would come, but not in a way that fit my paradigms. It wasn’t what I expected, but it was exactly what I needed. “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and out stretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you” (Jeremiah 32:17).
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
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