I never thought I had a problem with my body or self-image. I know I’m short and I have a pear-shaped body as I have a smaller upper body and then the size of my body increases towards the middle as I go further down (e.g. small belly, wide hips, love handles (i.e. extra fat in the hip area) and big thighs (especially in the inner thigh area), but hey, that’s normal right? I know I don’t have a perfect model-size or athletic body, but I never considered myself to be overweight.
All throughout high school and especially going to an all girl’s school, we use to have so many lessons about self- and body image in our health and human development classes. I remember learning, hearing and watching videos about girls who got so caught up with disliking their body that they began to destroy it and end up having disorders like anorexia, bulimia or depression. It was devastating to see and I’m sure most of us swore we would never end up like that.
It’s amazing how Satan can mess with your mind and make you doubt you’re self-image. It is crazy how a single comment about weight or how skinny and fat someone is can suddenly make you question your body weight and cause you to wonder whether you need to lose a few kilos or not.
Comparison is the WORST when it comes to body image. We compare ourselves with others who are bigger or thinner than us then justify our own weight with those people. We get jealous of people who are thinner and strive to be like them, yet make fun of the people who are larger than us and use them to make us feel better. It’s SO wrong and SO stupid. Why can’t we just appreciate and be thankful for the size that we are? There is no win in comparison (‘The Comparison Trap’ series by Andy Stanley) and we are created “in the image of God” (Genesis 1:27), therefore we are perfect because God is perfect.
Yesterday was the first time that I wore my bathers without any boardies on and walked around like it didn’t bother me. I’ve always been self-conscious about my thighs. I know I have large thighs for my size therefore I have never felt confident to walk around in my bathers without a pair of boardies. When I chose to do it, I spent 10 minutes going back and forth, telling myself it’s ok and my body is fine, to questioning whether people will make fun of me and laugh behind my back. It was ridiculous and in the end, there was no judgement, it felt SO freeing to walk around, climb a waterfall, jump in lakes without an extra pair of clothing because I was afraid of what others thought of me.
I actually know lots of girls who have the same insecurity as me and I hate that society has affected us this much that it has made us question our beauty and uniqueness that God had intended for us.
Girls, Ladies, Women – We ARE beautiful. Every part of our body from head to toe and especially in our curvier areas. I’m talking about our arms, our stomachs, our hips, our thighs, our boobs and even our a**. We are perfect in the image of our Almighty God. We don’t need to impress society. We don’t need to impress guys. We are gorgeous and I pray that each of you, including me have the confidence to believe it, walk in it and encourage each other towards it. Also, let’s stop judging, comparing and making comments about people’s weight around each other. Let’s build each other up and talk about the things that do matter, like our heart (check out my previous blog) and appreciate the different sizes that we are.
I love you all.
