You're Marvelous
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We are all born with a healthy sense of self, but at a very early age, we begin to form opinions (positive and negative) about ourselves based on words, behaviors, and expectations directed at us by others. As a young girl, I was constantly teased about my weight. Needless to say, I never thought of myself as beautiful. The name calling and negative words had begun to chip away at my self-esteem. However, I thank God that He did not allow these satanic weapons to prosper in my life. He began to change my thoughts and renew my mind with His Word. This renewal led to many positive changes.
One such transformation began when I decided to see myself as He sees me, regardless of my dress size. This new attitude required, and still requires, some work. I have had to face some tough facts and respond accordingly. For instance, my weight at one point in my journey became more than I was able to bear physically and emotionally. At that point, I had two choices: (1) keep eating, whining, and complaining, or (2) lose the weight. So I made up my mind to lose the weight. In six months, I lost sixty pounds and gained a new lease on life. The pounds had been shackles tied to each of my feet, literally weighing me down and preventing me from running, walking, or even crawling towards my destiny.
This is not a blog on weight loss, but I will tell you this – the pounds start in our heads before they ever reach our hips. The battle of the bulge and other self-image battles begin in our minds. We have to decide to reject every deprecating thought that the enemy hurls our way. The Bible instructs us to surrender our thoughts to God (2 Corinthians 10:5). We accomplish this by filling our minds with His thoughts, found in His Word. I thank God that through His Word, I have learned to love and respect my body, which is His temple. I now realize that God created me, and He does not create junk. I am comfortable with the fact that I will never be a stuntwoman for Halle Berry or Julia Roberts; that is not my calling. However, I am still “wonderfully made – absolutely marvelous (Psalm 139:14),” and so are you!
Reflection Questions
What did you think about yourself as a child? Who or what helped to form those thoughts?