This year, we’ve focused on stories inspired by our We Are the World Race Campaign. This month, we’re sharing stories inspired by women on the mission field. (Don’t worry guys, your turn is coming next month!) Our experiences with women worldwide have taught us what womanhood really means. Women are wired for intimate relationships and deep, abiding love. And even when that “love” is used to take advantage of them—things like human trafficking, prostitution, and exploitation, to name a few—women teach us about beauty, femininity, joy, and God’s love for each one of his daughters. This month we want to celebrate all things women-in-missions related, and give you a chance to share your story as well.
Our story this week comes from Rebekah Burney of the September 2013 U Squad. Rebekah and her squad spent their fifth month of the Race blazing new trails in Japan. Every country we visit is full of rich traditions, and Japan is no exception. A choice to embrace one of those traditions led Rebekah to a valuable lesson about beauty and self-worth.
There’s nothing that makes you feel more ordinary than being surrounded by dozens of naked women.
Now, you may be wondering what the heck I’m talking about. Well, a large part of Japanese culture are their onsens, or public bath houses. Japanese people are serious about their bath time. I had heard rumors before I got here that all members of the family bathe in the same water. While this is true, it’s not as gross as it sounds.
You see, baths are not for getting clean, but for relaxing after you scrub yourself clean in the shower.
An onsen is where a large number of people gather together to shower and bathe. Why? It’s culture. And it’s freaking relaxing.
I had the pleasure of visiting one of these onsens with my host family.
The thought of being naked around all these women was a bit nerve-racking, but I wanted to partake in the cultural experience.
I, like so many other women, have been brainwashed by TV and magazines into thinking I don’t live up to society’s definition of ‘beauty.’ My hair is too short, too thin, too flat. My eyebrows are un-groomed, my nose is too flat, my lips are too chapped. My shoulders are too wide, my arms too flabby, my fingers too short. My stomach is too big, my hips aren’t wide enough, my thighs touch when I stand up. My knees are knobby, my calves are huge, and my ankles are too thick.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg of issues that I, and every woman, can choose from to make a list of everything that’s wrong with the way they look.
Women have a knack for finding the small details that differ from the air-brushed women who define our beauty and self-worth.
We tell ourselves women are supposed to look like those touched-up versions. We even believe the silly lie that everyone else is beautiful and we are the only ones with our specific imperfections. We isolate ourselves, thinking the differences in our bodies are unique only to us, making us insecure and self-conscious.
Soaking in one of the baths at the onsen, I try to avert my eyes from the sea of naked women around me.
But then I realize something beautiful about these women. There’s no one type of woman here.
There’s tall women, short women, skinny women, fat women. There’s long hair, short hair, straight hair, curly hair. There’s women with 4-pack abs, and women with multiple “extra tires”. Women whose hip bones stick out of their bodies and women whose bellies hang below their waist line. Large boobs, tiny boobs, perky boobs, old-women saggy boobs.
Each and every woman walking around is beautiful in all her little differences.
Each of them is lovingly hand-crafted by the creator of the universe!
When it comes to body image, I’ve never really been a proponent for comparison, but just take a minute to compare yourself to the description above. You’ll find that you’re not isolated, you’re really very…average. And not just average, but beautifully and lovingly hand-crafted by the creator of the universe!
Rebekah’s experience in the onsen allowed us to share a revelation about the beauty women possess. Through choosing vulnerability and honoring the culture, she allowed God to teach her something truly special. Women worldwide struggle with self-image and value. You could be the one to spread this message of worth across the earth. Click here to apply for your own World Race journey.
Cover photo by Rebekah Burney; other photos via Lindsey Newberry
