To your body, that is.
Last night I was on one of my online boards (for mommies who recently had babies) and was kind of sad reading about all these moms who are embarrassed about their “new” after-delivery body. Most women who have had babies can testify that your body will probably NEVER be the same. Things get out of place (way out of place) and will unlikely go back to be what they used to be.
But why should they?
Our bodies will change regardless of recently having had a baby or age. We can’t stop it and there’s nothing we can do about it. Well, almost nothing. We can learn to accept and respect who we are, understanding that God made us unique. We will never be at peace with ourselves if do not do this. Not only that, but our motivations in life will be crooked. Worst of all, what we believe leads how we act toward ourselves and toward others. Our actions become our health legacy.
Ah hah! Remember the health legacy I talked to you the last time I was around? Yes, I will keep bringing it up because it has become my life motto lately.
I believe that good health begins by learning to love and respect who you are and helping your loved ones to do likewise. Ask yourself something, when was the last time you looked in the mirror and thought of how perfectly your body was made. Mmmm, well, hmmm, ah…
Yes, this is who you are and who you will be for the rest of your life. Your body is not the fake ones you see on TV or magazines (which, by the way, are photoshopped 99% of the time). The comments you make about your body are affecting your little ones and making a lasting impression in them. Your children grow up believing that they have too much of this or too little of that because they’re hearing it from you.
Do you believe the lies that the media is telling you about yourself and therefore making your children believe them as well? Are you conducting a health plan because you hate this and that about yourself or because you understand the lifelong benefits it represents. I’m not saying it’s bad to work areas that you would like to improve, but again, look at your motivations. Remember, you’re a lighthouse to your children and it’s the light you’re shedding what they need to follow.
I have been having conversations with my teenage daughter lately about this theme. Ah, the teenage years… Exciting? Not. It is amazing what our children have to face in their everyday lives, especially at school. She keeps telling me about what many kids are doing at her school and I need to hold my jaw with my hand to keep it in place. It is just sad. But then again, when you look back at their family history, not all but most, you can see a trend of wrong motivations stirring their homes. I am not pretending by any means to be better than anyone because only God knows how many mistakes I make daily. I just want to be aware of my mistakes so that I can make them better.
I want to leave you with this: look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself, “I am wonderfully made. Every part of me is.”
Now, come on, don’t by shy. Do it. I assure you that when you believe it then your children will believe the message you’re sending them. Have conversations with your children, heart-to-heart conversations. Perhaps you will need to admit to them what bothers you about yourself. Have them admit what bothers them about themselves. Then start anew and work together on a plan that will help all grow internally and will help you achieve your health goals.
I am still working in believing this myself, but I’m making good progress.
Tags: health legacy, positive body image
Related Posts:
I forgot to mention that I’m still working at believing this myself, but I’m making good progress. It doesn’t happen overnight. It is a process and it takes effort, so keep asking your mirror “Who’s the most beautiful of all?” and I’m sure it will tell you it it YOU.
I love this! This is a topic that is a “soapbox” for me. I feel very passionately that women need to love themselves and I can get very… irritated… with self loathing and criticism.
I’ve certainly got areas of my body that I want to improve. And I’m working on it. But that belly… it carried my babies. I can’t hate that.
My faith is a big part of my love of self, too. God loves me as I am and created me as I am. How can I hate on that?
And, like your health legacy, I think about the example I set for my kids. If my kids see me tearing down my appearance… and then they hear from others that they look just like me… what kind of message does that send?
Both women and girls need to take a course on Media Literacy. Its so helpful to really take a look at images and marketing to females.
My daughter has been more helpful to my self esteem than vice versa. She has a great attitude. Its all about self love and appreciation for just being YOU.
Thanks for this message.
Just wanted to shout an “Amen!”. After my C-section, I’ve never had a flat belly, much less the concave one I had before baby #1. I wish I had realized it and spent more time appreciating that pre-baby body!
***One of my friends, a graphic artist, once worked for quite a long period of time photoshopping out all the imperfections of model Yasmine Bleeth. Apparently, she’s very freckly! It just goes to show that what we see in the magazines is MOST LIKELY not what they really look like!!!
I just think that if we learned to love who we are there would be less issues with bulimia, anorexia, drugs, bad relationships, low self-esteem, school issues, and you name it in our society. IMHO.
WOW I don’t know what to say, this message totally gets me, I have 3 kids, and lately I feel so mad at myself for letting this get out of control, I’m a size 8 almost a 10, I can’t ware any of my cloths and I was feeling very depress. Thanks for the wakeup call, I can’t continue to make negative comments is not helping me, and my girls are listening all the time. Still I have to exercise for my health and remind myself I’m not 21.
Your daughter is very lucky to have you! I try to give my kids the same message — that they are beautiful as they are. I read/heard somewhere that God loves us as we are, but that doesn’t mean we have to stay that way.
I think I might put up signs in my kids bathroom — and mine — that say “I am wonderfully made!”