Put On The Shorts

Kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

“What do you think?” I asked as I sent a picture of myself to my sister. I waited in the dressing room for her response.

“Cute!” she replied.

“Thank you! I never buy shorts, but I’m trying to get over it,” I said.

“Why not? You have cute legs!” she said. “You should totally wear shorts. I don’t even like my legs, and I refuse to wear capris anymore. I’m wearing what’s comfortable.”

I reflected on her statement as I stared in the mirror. Why haven’t I ever worn shorts? I wondered as I changed back into my clothes. I’m starting today, I told myself as I took the pair of shorts up to the cash register.

Driving home, I continued pondering why I never wear shorts and where the idea came from that I couldn’t or shouldn’t. I realized that I had started telling myself as an insecure teenager that they didn’t look good on me, and I had never challenged that belief. Now, as a forty-something-year-old, I realize how faulty (and damaging) those thoughts were to me then and still are even now.

When I got home, I put the shorts on, looked in the mirror, and—because I’m determined to change how I think and feel about my body—I told myself, You have nice legs. They look good in shorts.

We can all have negative perceptions or beliefs we hold for years without even realizing it. It takes intention to notice and then replace ideas that may not have been true or healthy in the first place. But to do this, we must become aware of how we talk to ourselves.

Do we build ourselves up or tear ourselves down with critical self-talk? If the latter we must take a different approach. I’m grateful for my sister’s wise words, as well as for the reminder in Scripture that “kind words are like honey—sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.” If we want to care for ourselves—mind, body, and soul—we must consider what we say.

Kendra

Today’s Act of Gratitude

Pay attention to how you talk to yourself. What faulty thoughts or beliefs need to change? Once you realize what they are, decide how you will speak to yourself more kindly. Thank God for the amazing work he did in creating you.