“He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Ecclesiastes 3:11
This weekend, I ventured back into the forgotten territory, bouncing in and out of multiple shops, trying on clothes for kicks and searching for the perfect pair of jean shorts for my sixteen year old cousin. Our planned few hours morphed into a ten-hour extravaganza. TEN HOURS!!! By 9 p.m. I was seeing double and my shins were throbbing. It’s true, as one ages, there are some things the body can’t do anymore.
Our day was packed with laughs as Trisha updated me on the latest teen slang and trends. We came out on top, with cute little rompers, bohemian shorts and sundresses. Yet, I’m completely peeved. Store after store, women of all ages poked at their wobbly bits, asked if they look fat and hesitated to stand in front of a mirror. I thought I walked onto the set of Sisterhood of the Traveling pants when five girls simultaneously emerged from change rooms chirping compliments and concerns.
You look hot! That’s cute for the beach. I need to wear Spanx with this.
Seriously? Spanx shouldn’t be in the vocabulary of a fourteen-year-old. She was about a size zero; size two at max. What is our problem, girls? We need to stop nitpicking at our bodies. I’m preaching to myself here as well. I hate my mommy tummy and big feet. Recently I confessed to a friend that I don’t feel attractive because my hair is short, I’m six feet tall and over thirty. Pathetic.
An acquaintance of mine was hung up that she fell four pounds short of her weight loss goal. She’d been eating healthy, sweating her butt off at the gym and hiking for a year. She lost 96 pounds. That’s almost a person! Ninety-six pounds of achievement, yet she was chastising herself for the measly four pounds of failure.
Ladies, I’m going to start slapping you!
We ARE beautiful:
Psalm 139:13-18
1 Peter 3:3-4
Proverbs 31:30-31