OH ladies, this chapter could not have come at a more “in your face” manner for me – as next week I will likely {notice that word, likely, it could very well be a bit too much for me!} don a swimsuit on a beach or poolside in Hawaii. {GULP}
I have been blessed to have earned a free trip to Hawaii, which I will share more about later, but I have never been one to go around flaunting my body in the middle of winter on a beach or poolside! It almost gives me an excruciating headache, just thinking about it.
I am not as young as I used to be, my body does not bounce back from anything and I would prefer to just stay covered up – thank you very much!!
This chapter was good timing, not only for the swimsuit crazy idea taunting me, but also the fact that I have a big bald spot on my head, cellulite on my legs, Lupus to deal with, and wrinkles on my face. Remember me sharing about how I felt so intimidated as an “older mom of a toddler” because all the ‘other’ moms are cuter and wore such fun clothes – well the idea of going to a beach with one of these younger moms is really scary for me, so perhaps I can strive to get over this whole issue about my body and comparing.
We are not alone, whatever your “issues” are with your body…..the mom next to you has just as many on their list too.
“You see, when we compare insides to insides, we find out our bodies are really more “normal” than we thought. This discovery is the first step in learning to love the very real bodies God has given us.”
I honestly forget all the time that God thinks I am beautiful – don’t we all? I think women especially have a hard time remembering this and fully embracing it. We are bombarded with images of perfect looking people every time we turn around, so it can be hard to feel good about our own bodies, especially as we age.
I love how Jill talks about taking care of our bodies – it is a stewardship issue and when we do not take that seriously we not only hurt ourselves but hurt Him. This does not mean you have to be a work-out fiend, or never eat salty fat laden potato chips again {oops, let that outta the bag!} but it does mean to think of Him and the gift that He gave.
How did you feel reading the bible verses that were referenced with regard to your body and what God thinks? When you really sit down and think about it, the body is amazing, even with all the little “flaws” that we like to focus on.
“A single human blood cell can complete a circuit of the entire body in just about sixty seconds.”
That is incredible, and certainly declares our bodies wonderful machines and true gifts!
Did you download the discussion questions yet for this week? You can do that here.
Now, out of all the ‘imperfect body” issues mentioned at the beginning of the chapter, which can you relate to? Would you add other issues you struggle with that perhaps another mom might as well?
Out of the options given to do more intentionally, MOVE IT, REST IT, HYDRATE IT, or FEED IT, can you improve on and focus on this week?
