Body Love
By: Susan Deborah Schiller
Today, out of nowhere, I heard an inner voice say, "body love". Maybe that's Yoda-talk for "love your body and take care of it well".
It's cold and snowy, and so I make excuses for not going outdoors to walk and inhale the wintery mountain-fresh air.
My body aches and throbs with fibromyalgia, so I tell myself it's okay to skip stretching and giving this aging body a workout before it drops out.
I dare say that too many thoughts have been devoted to stripping my glorious identity. I have looked at the places that sag, jiggle, and wrinkle and I annouce, "You're getting old and fat!"
For too many years I thought some places were too large, too small, too ugly. And I did not say of this, God's masterful creation, "It is good!"
I did not agree with my Maker. So I must go back to the day I was formed, and reframe this mystery of my body…
For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.
And in Your book they all were written,
The days fashioned for me,
When as yet there were none of them. – Ps 139
My body is designed for adventures. Taste buds dazzle me as delightful morsels slip over my tongue. Olfactory nerves tantalize me while steak sizzles in the oven. When my ears hear, "I love you," my whole body squirms with pleasure, inside and out. My skin is skillfully sculpted to embrace the wind on my cheeks and my baby at my breast.
Today I choose to honor this unique, miraculous wonder of God's own making.
My feet, who have taken me so many miles. Up singing creeks and over forested hills, through supermarkets and malls, across busy streets and on long hikes in dense woods.
My legs have pumped the pedals of my bike, punched the accelerator of my car, and picked me up from chairs to walk me all across the world.
My hips, that so often have seemed too wide, have expanded and contracted with each healthy pregnancy and birth. I am grateful for these hips and how they center my posture and support my gait.
Knees, have I stopped to thank you for all the times you've strained to bend to pick up a crying child, to kneel down on the floor and play games, to climb stairs again and again?
Breasts who have been told to "stay hidden," as somehow to be a woman should make you ashamed, have I given you honor for the selfless hours you've produced an abundance of milk for years and years at a time?
Oh neck, supporting that sagging chin, have I even considered the stress load you carry, holding up my head? Have I sought to ease your load by stopping to just breathe?
My hands, typing words every day, punching keys that have long since lost their letters and still creating sentences, paragraphs, and mailing out letters that touch lives, hearts, and bond with my friends.
Too long I've "thanked" you with criticism or neglect. But not today, and by God's grace, not tomorrow.
I'm reframing the mental picture of my body and I'm calling it my friend. This body is made for adventures!
So I will bake and enjoy every morsel, without guilt. I will ride by bike, canoe, and swim and rejoice in the movement of each muscle and limb. With my eyes wide open I will stop what I'm doing and gaze up into the sky, filling my lungs with fresh mountain air.
The pressure of performance will no longer cripple me, preventing me from enjoying each moment… I am becoming comfortable in my skin.
Our bodies need love, too. What do you think? What is the best thing you've done to love and support your body?
Choosing love today,
Sue
Susan Schiller's life mission is to help rescue and restore those trapped in perpectual nightmares. Through activations in mini memoir writing she teaches us how to create our world. It's like discovering a spiritual blueprint within our childhood memories and using it to rewrite our future with God's Truth. A new family legacy is published, blessing the next generation.
In her past life, Susan has served in duties ranging from home school mom – to pastor – to full-time deliverance minister – and to Midwest regional prayer coordinator for a large international ministry. These days you can usually find Susan soaking in nature, reading a book (or several), blogging, baking bread, or hanging out with her family and friends. You can get a free copy of Susan's upcoming book, "On the Way Home" by registering here.
Copyright 2010-2014, Susan Schiller, http://TeamFamilyOnline.com. For reprint permission for any private or commercial use, in any form of media, please contact Susan Schiller.
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A dear friend shared this devotional quote with me, and he says it so much better than I:
What The Lord Is Saying Today
August 3, 2012. Staggering is the thought that God made man in His own image. So why would anyone want to change any part of himself? Sometimes it is medically necessary to do repair work such as we see in wounded warriors, accidents, burns, etc. And because He loves mankind so much, He is seemingly blinded to what seems to us as imperfections. God likes and love you exactly as He made you. There is a beauty He sees and delights you. When you look at yourself in the mirror, you should be in awe and wonder over how God made you. None of your appearance is distasteful to God. Rather, He is glorified by you. You make God happy simply by being yourself, just as you are, before Him. Let it stagger you daily so that you rejoice before Him with praise and dance.
Genesis 1:27-28 (NASB) "God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Ras Robinson
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