As I sat in church this past Sunday and listened to the message regarding how we view and treat our bodies, it really hit home since my daughter had a couple of friends that were involved in some body shaming this past week as well. I have always been very conscious about making sure that we don’t place a lot of weight in people’s size, even our own, despite the fact that we are both naturally thinner in nature. With social media already portraying what the perfect body should look like and what we should strive for to get there, I think we don’t need any pressure on ourselves to look a certain way.

The message today was focused on the paradox of two extremes, those who abuse their bodies and don’t take care of them in the capacity they should vs. those who obsessively yearn for the perfect body. Our pastor made such a true statement that really stuck with me. He said no matter how hard we work out or try to improve ourselves, it is not likely we will ever look in the mirror and say “I am done. I have the perfect body I have striving for.” We will always set new goals and continue to strive for that perfection. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to improve our health and our bodies, we need to remember one important thing. God created us, from the time we were in the womb, to be who we are. We need to love and appreciate everything about the bodies we were given and take care of them in the proper way.

Today, body shaming of any sort is a real issue, especially with younger girls. If they don’t feel perfect, they immediately revert back to their insecurities and feelings of inadequacy. In reality, we need to be teaching our daughters and even sons, that the person looking back at them in the mirror is God’s creation and so perfectly made.

Life is hard enough as you grow and become the person you are going to be. Learning to love ourselves can be difficult but if we struggle with that, we need to remember who created our bodies and how we are meant to use them to serve the Lord, not to judge or criticize others who look different than we do. We are all different shapes and sizes, but you know what, I don’t ever look at any of my friends or family and see their physical body or shape, I see their true beauty, inside and out. If we can just teach our young daughters to view themselves and others in the same light, we can create a world of acceptance and genuine beauty.

Whenever a topic recurs more than once in a given week, I always feel that it is God tugging at my heart to reflect and write about it. While my daughter was not the one who was body shamed last week, one of her close friends was, and it affected her deeply as it did me when I heard about it. The fact is that when someone puts you down for looking different than they do, my first instinct is that is their defense mechanism against their own insecurities. It’s so important to recognize that and focus on taking the best care of our bodies that we can.

So, as we get ready to transition back into shorts and bathing suit weather, I pray that all of us can learn to love the person staring back in the mirror and see well beyond the physical exterior of ourselves or those around us. When we are reminded of our Creator and his purpose for making us who we are, certainly that should outrank anything else. Let’s show our daughters what real perfection is, a good heart and a caring soul. Have a great rest of the week!