Naked: a person without clothing, without protection, vulnerable, and feelings that are expressed openly.
Being naked is terrifying to me in a couple of different ways. On one hand you have literally being naked and on the other you have being completely vulnerable and allowing people to see me for me. This past week challenged both of these areas for me.
A struggle I have always had is comparison. I am quick to see other people’s beauty and hold their beauty with such a value, but then completely devalue mine. I have always struggled with having big thighs, rolls, stretch marks, and just being bigger than most people I meet. I have been told that my beauty or lack of beauty defines me from a small age. I have been told that no man would ever love me or want to marry me. I have been told that if I just had a smaller number on the scale it would change everything. I have been told that I would be happier if I looked like the girls in magazines. I have been told that my beauty is not enough.
And I believed it all.
I believed and still do have trouble believing every single one of these lies. Since when did us humans have the right to start to reject and compare God’s creations? If we believe that the Bible is true and it says that we are his masterpiece (Eph:10) than why can’t we believe that? Why do I have such a problem with believing it? I think it’s because I have given people and the enemy the right to speak that into my life. I gave power to other people’s words than God’s precious and powerful words.
The same goes for me being vulnerable and bearing my good and my bad. I shouldn’t be afraid of how others will see me because my Creator looks at me and he calls me daughter. He knows EVERYTHING about me and still chose to send his son to die on the cross for me.
So how did I get challenged this week in being naked? By stripping down with my other gal pals from my team this past week at a Turkish Bath house that a local woman invited us to. In that moment when we decided to leave our fears of comparison at the door a sense of safety and joy was created. Not once did we judge each other for our different body shapes, but instead we embraced the beauty of the moment and our bodies.
I want to end this blog with a quote from my college pastor Chris Miller, “You were made on Purpose and for a purpose.” Part of the person is showing the Lord’s creative side with your beauty of he intimately and intricately designed you as his child.
I highly recommend you go a listen to the song “You Say” by Lauren Daigle (Link Below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8WK9HmF53w
