Body

Body

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

AS A YOUNG WOMAN I worked out almost every day. I would love to tell you that I just wanted to be healthy, and that may have been partly true, but the reality was I was much more concerned about the way my body looked. I wanted to fit into a certain size and keep to a particular weight. And I would do just about anything to achieve that goal.

But the truth was that even though on the outside I looked very physically fit, on the inside, I hated my body. I didn’t like the way that I looked and was constantly critiquing myself. No one knew these internal thoughts that I was having because I kept them to myself, but I berated myself over what I saw in the mirror and treated my body harshly.

It wasn’t until several years had passed and I’d birthed two children that I began to see my body differently. I still continued to work out, but my thoughts and feelings toward my body began to change. Instead of caring only about my external appearance, I began to see how my body carried strength in the way that I could run, play with my kids, and do other physical activities. When my children would comment on my physique, I would tell them how I loved my body for what it could do, not what it looked like. And over time, I began to believe it. I started to talk to God about his creation, including my physical being. And I began to thank him for it. Today, I still exercise and take care of myself physically, but I’m much kinder in the way that I talk and treat my body than I ever used to be.

It is important to take care of our physical bodies, but the way we do it matters. How we talk about ourselves matters to God. In his eyes, we are fearfully and wonderfully (notice Psalm 139 doesn’t say “perfectly”) made. I believe he loves for us to care for ourselves the way that he does: in a way that builds us up, not tears us down.

Lord, thank you for creating our physical bodies. May we love them the way that you do. Amen.

-Kendra

One Good Step: Take one intentional step to take care of your physical body today.