A Wondrous Creation of God

Hopefully, by now you know how passionate I am about helping people see the beauty in their own bodies. Many, if not all, of us struggle at some point with accepting our bodies as they are. We may think we're too short, or that our shape isn't right.

This is simply untrue.

There is no ideal way for a body to look.

I could go on for days about why this is true, but for this post,

 I wanted to focus on what our bodies are capable of.

I use this method of thinking in my Body Confidence Workshops. I try to help people see that their bodies are amazing just as they are because they are capable of doing so much. Your heart beats, your muscles contract and relax, your intestines digest food, your eyes and ears and nose give constant input to your brain. Bodies are incredible.

But what if your body isn't as capable as you'd like it to be?

For a long time, I struggled with accepting the way my body looked. I have, through the grace of God, been able to move past this and love my body just the way it is in the mirror.

But lately I've been struggling to accept other aspects of my body: how it works. 

Or rather, how it sometimes doesn't.

I've always been a go-getter, a fill-my-plate-er, a busy bee.

My whole life has been about trying to fill it as full as possible.

I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing.

But lately I've been forced to take a step back.

Several steps back, in fact.

And I've realized that, right now, I physically cannot do everything I used to do.

And that can be immensely frustrating sometimes.

But I'm also grateful for the chance to slow down, to take care of myself, to show myself a little more love.

Every year before school starts, my dad gives each of the kids a Father's Blessing.

This year, among other things, I was promised that nothing would interfere with my schooling, "except that which is more precious."

God believed that my health was more important than my schooling, and I have to believe that, for now, not being in school is the right call for me.

And as I'm laying in bed, with heat pads and pain meds and a TENS unit (which is my new best friend), I need to remember how precious my body is.

I need to remember that it is still amazing, and perfect in its own way.

Even if there are many things that it is not currently capable of.

Even if those things are things that used to be a piece of cake.

I have to love my body, not just for what it looks like, or what it can do, but for what it is: a wondrous creation of God.