“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
Showing posts with label Body image. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Body image. Show all posts
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
Monday, April 4, 2011
Ordinary Beautiful People
“He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2).
Ask anyone who the most desirable people are and the top choices will include celebrities in various professions. Being beautiful or “hot” is America’s national obsession. We spend vast resources pickling, pruning and pampering our bodies seeking the applause of admirers. Youth must be preserved at all cost. What a heavy price our souls have paid that far outweighs the damage to our purse.
Instead of believing what God says about beauty, we have embraced Satan’s lie that if we are not rich, thin and gorgeous we’re rejects. Competition is fierce; standards keep rising along with our fear of not measuring up. Drifting away from God’s love, it’s no wonder we feel like castaways stranded on an island of despair.
There’s nothing wrong with being attractive. God is not anti-beauty. While He does not advocate gluttony and abuse of our bodies, our physical appearance does not determine our value to God. Scripture tells us Jesus was average looking. It wasn’t His dazzling wardrobe and handsome face that turned heads when He walked the streets of Jerusalem. It was the brilliance of His soul; the warm inner light of God’s love that penetrated the hearts of broken people.
Unlike the world, Jesus concentrates on internal makeovers. He takes lowly sinners and transforms them into His glorious servants. Mother Teresa exemplified this. In June, 1995 I was overwhelmed by Christ’s love bursting from her as I watched her speak in Newton, MA. She was God’s princess; lovelier than any beauty queen. Her broken English prayer was more eloquent than the finest orator’s speech.
Some of the most attractive people have calloused faces but glowing hearts. God’s finger has erased the guilt lines of their sins. They are not plain or unnoticed in God’s eyes. Are you in search of eternal beauty that improves with age? Christ’s heart-lift outperforms any physician’s face-lift. Our extraordinary God specializes in making ordinary people beautiful. Give your life to Jesus who understands your struggle. You don’t need to strive to win his affection. He desires to lavish you with His love. “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2).
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
Ask anyone who the most desirable people are and the top choices will include celebrities in various professions. Being beautiful or “hot” is America’s national obsession. We spend vast resources pickling, pruning and pampering our bodies seeking the applause of admirers. Youth must be preserved at all cost. What a heavy price our souls have paid that far outweighs the damage to our purse.
Instead of believing what God says about beauty, we have embraced Satan’s lie that if we are not rich, thin and gorgeous we’re rejects. Competition is fierce; standards keep rising along with our fear of not measuring up. Drifting away from God’s love, it’s no wonder we feel like castaways stranded on an island of despair.
There’s nothing wrong with being attractive. God is not anti-beauty. While He does not advocate gluttony and abuse of our bodies, our physical appearance does not determine our value to God. Scripture tells us Jesus was average looking. It wasn’t His dazzling wardrobe and handsome face that turned heads when He walked the streets of Jerusalem. It was the brilliance of His soul; the warm inner light of God’s love that penetrated the hearts of broken people.
Unlike the world, Jesus concentrates on internal makeovers. He takes lowly sinners and transforms them into His glorious servants. Mother Teresa exemplified this. In June, 1995 I was overwhelmed by Christ’s love bursting from her as I watched her speak in Newton, MA. She was God’s princess; lovelier than any beauty queen. Her broken English prayer was more eloquent than the finest orator’s speech.
Some of the most attractive people have calloused faces but glowing hearts. God’s finger has erased the guilt lines of their sins. They are not plain or unnoticed in God’s eyes. Are you in search of eternal beauty that improves with age? Christ’s heart-lift outperforms any physician’s face-lift. Our extraordinary God specializes in making ordinary people beautiful. Give your life to Jesus who understands your struggle. You don’t need to strive to win his affection. He desires to lavish you with His love. “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him” (Isaiah 53:2).
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Blessed Curse
“Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful” Romans 12:12.
Do you find yourself wrestling with God over why He has allowed things that test your patience? Life isn’t easy for most of us, yet we make it harder by tossing our anger at the One who is working to bring a blessing out of a curse. Oh, if I only I would cooperate with Him more instead of putting up a fight! So many of my greatest struggles turned out to be the greatest character-building moments when my spirit was teachable. At the time, they did not seem like a fork-in-the-road choice. But looking in the rear view mirror God sometimes affords me a glimpse of the importance of choosing wisely.
One of the first struggles I had to overcome was with food. It’s a common problem with many Americans. In the land of plenty we’re prone to overindulgence at every turn. I was never obese, but in my late teens I donned extra pounds that did not compliment my small frame. There were a host of reasons this was happened: less exercise, finding my solace in sweets when insecurities arose, and lack of nutritional understanding. After all, doesn’t a teenager have more important things to ponder than proteins, carbohydrates and fats? Sharing one of my self-pity moments with my college roommate, her retort rattled my self-absorbed mood, “You have so much potential. I don’t know why you don’t use what you’ve been given.”
Who, me? What potential do I have? And what am I so afraid of? My answer, success! For me, it had become easier to hold back. No one expects much of you if you’re living below your potential. Yet I knew my excuses where lame. I’d grown tired of my miserable jealous feelings when skinny friends feasted on treats without consequence. Two choices were available—stagnate and surrender to my food addiction, or take control and win. Strong in self-determination, I started a strict diet and exercise regimen. I absorbed every article I could find on these topics. God was not part of the equation back then. Emphasis on my strength was all I needed, or so I thought.
For awhile, I was winning the battle. In fact, the transformation was so dramatic that friends who hadn’t seen me in months didn’t recognize me. My hair was longer, my body was 25 pounds thinner, and contacts replaced my wire rim glasses. Success tasted sweet, but didn’t last long. My weight yo-yoed whenever I felt challenged, lonely, or insecure. Although the outside had changed the inside needed work. It took a health crisis in my thirties for God to reach me. He led me to a place that my strength could not hold me. Only placing my trust in Christ’s hands could.
It all seemed so cruel, so unfair when my health was jeopardized. I felt completely out of control after expanding so much effort to create a world-approved image of myself. Again, a fork-in-the-road appeared. Do I wallow in anger and abuse my body further, or do I turn to Jesus for the healing and peace I lack? Yes, it was wise to educate myself on healthy choices in food and exercise; but my diet had to include a daily dose of heavenly love. Without it I was starved, unsatisfied, and reaching for the wrong things to fill the void.
This wellness battle will always rage to some degree in my flesh, but praise God there has been victory! My weight swings are much less, and my palate desires the nutrients my body needs. No longer do I see self-restraint as punishment from God, but as loving boundaries that keep my mind, body and spirit in harmony. Perhaps that which you are fighting so strongly against will one day be your greatest ally if you invite Jesus into the war. “Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful” Romans 12:12.
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
Do you find yourself wrestling with God over why He has allowed things that test your patience? Life isn’t easy for most of us, yet we make it harder by tossing our anger at the One who is working to bring a blessing out of a curse. Oh, if I only I would cooperate with Him more instead of putting up a fight! So many of my greatest struggles turned out to be the greatest character-building moments when my spirit was teachable. At the time, they did not seem like a fork-in-the-road choice. But looking in the rear view mirror God sometimes affords me a glimpse of the importance of choosing wisely.
One of the first struggles I had to overcome was with food. It’s a common problem with many Americans. In the land of plenty we’re prone to overindulgence at every turn. I was never obese, but in my late teens I donned extra pounds that did not compliment my small frame. There were a host of reasons this was happened: less exercise, finding my solace in sweets when insecurities arose, and lack of nutritional understanding. After all, doesn’t a teenager have more important things to ponder than proteins, carbohydrates and fats? Sharing one of my self-pity moments with my college roommate, her retort rattled my self-absorbed mood, “You have so much potential. I don’t know why you don’t use what you’ve been given.”
Who, me? What potential do I have? And what am I so afraid of? My answer, success! For me, it had become easier to hold back. No one expects much of you if you’re living below your potential. Yet I knew my excuses where lame. I’d grown tired of my miserable jealous feelings when skinny friends feasted on treats without consequence. Two choices were available—stagnate and surrender to my food addiction, or take control and win. Strong in self-determination, I started a strict diet and exercise regimen. I absorbed every article I could find on these topics. God was not part of the equation back then. Emphasis on my strength was all I needed, or so I thought.
For awhile, I was winning the battle. In fact, the transformation was so dramatic that friends who hadn’t seen me in months didn’t recognize me. My hair was longer, my body was 25 pounds thinner, and contacts replaced my wire rim glasses. Success tasted sweet, but didn’t last long. My weight yo-yoed whenever I felt challenged, lonely, or insecure. Although the outside had changed the inside needed work. It took a health crisis in my thirties for God to reach me. He led me to a place that my strength could not hold me. Only placing my trust in Christ’s hands could.
It all seemed so cruel, so unfair when my health was jeopardized. I felt completely out of control after expanding so much effort to create a world-approved image of myself. Again, a fork-in-the-road appeared. Do I wallow in anger and abuse my body further, or do I turn to Jesus for the healing and peace I lack? Yes, it was wise to educate myself on healthy choices in food and exercise; but my diet had to include a daily dose of heavenly love. Without it I was starved, unsatisfied, and reaching for the wrong things to fill the void.
This wellness battle will always rage to some degree in my flesh, but praise God there has been victory! My weight swings are much less, and my palate desires the nutrients my body needs. No longer do I see self-restraint as punishment from God, but as loving boundaries that keep my mind, body and spirit in harmony. Perhaps that which you are fighting so strongly against will one day be your greatest ally if you invite Jesus into the war. “Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful” Romans 12:12.
Your fellow sojourner,
Mary
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