Making Peace with the Numbers

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Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought with a price. Therefore, honor God with your body. (1 Corinthians 6:19)

As I viewed our recent photos of our family trip to Pigeon Forge, TN I was completely mortified. "Is this really how I look", I thought? It was approximately six months after having my (first) son. At this point in my life I weighed my heaviest ever, by far! Yes, during my pregnancy with my first child I definitely took advantage of "eating for two", gaining 55 lbs! But, for some reason I had the illusion that most of that weight would magically disappear when the baby was born. Oh, I ate whatever I wanted and, I ate often! I enjoyed my pregnancy! But nothing could prepare me for the disappointment I faced when the numbers on the scale had not gone down even six months after childbirth. No, I was NOT one of the lucky moms who lost weight while breastfeeding or fit in her pre-pregnancy jeans weeks after. Nope! It clung to me in more way than one.

For many of us women this is a hard reality to deal with. For some it is a struggle that continues even years later.

The fact of the matter is that God created us with body fat! Just like our other organs and tissues, fat has its function to keep us alive and healthy. But, it is no secret that overindulging or not taking care of our bodies can result in more body fat than we need. As 1 Corinthians 6:19 indicates God desires for us to take care of the bodies he gave us! Why, however, do we let our body fat (weight) define us as this "word art" indicates? Well I'm not so sure I have a perfect answer for that question but I will tell you that I have struggled as many of you.

Since that time in my life I have lost the weight (45 pounds), gained nearly as much back in my second pregnancy (that 45 pounds I had lost) , lost that baby weight, and some time later let a few pounds creep up on me again!

Each time I had gained or lost weight changed the way I thought about myself. But, have I ever felt at peace about my "numbers" or the realities of my body even when I was "skinny"? Truthfully, I would have to say NO! Maybe this is you too, struggling to feel peace with your body and/or the numbers on the scale? If you haven't already see what Lysa TerKeurst says about giving up the guilt for peace. Click to watch the YouTube.com video of Made to Crave Session 3.

I never thought myself the "skinny girl". Even as a majorette in high school I always thought myself as the fat one. Though I didn't really have a problem with my waist, I was however very self conscious about my "chunky" legs and not so skinny arms. Even now working through this session of Made to Crave I have struggled with having peace about my body (those "chunky" legs). But, as I continue to do my weight training I have come to a realization that God has blessed me with great muscle tone. It can be so difficult to understand our bodies when we have been programmed by media and our societies views. I don't believe that was God's desire for us to be so critical of ourselves. I am learning what an amazing design our bodies really are.

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