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This was the subject heading of an email I received last week from one of my coaching clients.
I went on to read:
“Yep, you read that right. I hate my legs and butt because of all of the cellulite so I decided to pray that I would love it. That may sound weird but I know that I have to completely accept my body before I can relax and learn to eat like a normal person. When I go shopping for clothing and I see myself in the mirror, it sends me over the edge with disappointment and it’s a big trigger to find a diet. I decided that God wants us to turn to him for everything and that he loves my cellulite so he can make me love it. I just don’t want to feel that urgency that I have to lose weight by a certain time anymore. I know if I keep going and eating 0-5 I will get there. ”
Thank you, Debbie, for giving permission for me to share this GREAT perspective here with others who will read it.
How about you? Will you pray that God will help you to love your ____________? (Maybe it is your hips, thighs–or cellulite…whatever aspect of your body that you secretly or, not so secretly, despise.) What might be the results of loving this “part” of your body with God’s love?
Will you pray that God will help you to love your __stomach__________? OH YUCK!!! Mine is my stomach, definitely!!! I just got out of the bathtub, and sitting in the bath is the WORST place to have to look at your stomach. I hate it!! OK, stepping out in faith………….. God, help me to love my stomach. God!!! HELP me to LOVE my stomach!! Heidi, sometimes you sure do give us strange things to do.
Date: Wed, 26 Jun 2013 11:19:46 +0000 To: simplydalena@hotmail.com
Love this post!
My tummy has multiple scars from some life saving surgery in my past. I see scars, poor muscle tone, just plain ugly. My husband says he loves those scars because they represent I am still here and living. I am learning all my bumps, bulges, scars, wrinkles, sags, bags represent living life. I am not sorry for my life. God has granted me bonus time and I count it all precious. Blessings, Joyce
I had always been so mean and negative to my body image telling myself I’m ugly, chubby and so forth when I did the mirror challenge and looked at myself as beautiful and wonderfully made I saw myself through new eyes. I didn’t think there was anything pretty or nice about my body but there is my legs are strong and my arms and shoulders are strong my smile and dimple are cute my short stature is like my nana. I am begging to love my stomach it has been my personal struggle but as I stood there I remember my strech marks and small diastsis rect are from my children I have carried in my stomach those are my memories of motherhood. I am learning to love ALL of me as God loves ALL of me. Heidi thank you for bringing this before us and having us go deep in our hearts and pray for peace and love of our own bodies.
Not begging lol beginning to love
Great perspective. Perfection is a myth. Those things about ourselves that we despise actually make us more interesting. I heard a comedian recently describe models without makeup as “tired, tall little boys” . And…”don’t let them fall on you. They’re pointy.” We can find that place of peace with our own bodies.
When I notice the cellutite on my legs, I say Thank you Father God for you have made me feafully and wonderfully. : ) I keep putting one foot in front the other. Keeping my mind on JESUS the AUTHOR and FINISHER of my FAITH.
It does’nt help to beat myself up! So I might as well agree with what God say’s about who I am in Christ Jesus. Amen. 🙂
This is one area I have a hard time with. I can not & do not love the ruin I have done to the Temple of the Holy Spirit. So I don’t feel I can or should ask God to bless or love what sin caused me to be & where I am in this struggle with my weight. I know He loves me just as I am but I am too convicted by the things I’ve done w/out Him & the reasons behind it to ask that He let me love it or think He loves it. I can & do ask Him to help me love ME, who HE created me to be & all He has planned for me to do. I know He loves the me inside & He sees & knows my heart of hearts. But to love the destruction to the temple, no. To rebuild & take care of it yes, I can pray for that.
Thank you for your sharing and for your honesty. Remember that He does love you them same today as He did yesterday. You are His adopted daughter and He is the perfect Daddy. But I get the difficulty part!
This is one area I have a hard time with. I can not & do not love the ruin I have done to the Temple of the Holy Spirit. So I don’t feel I can or should ask God to bless or love what sin caused me to be & where I am in this struggle with my weight. I know He loves me just as I am but I am too convicted by the things I’ve done w/out Him & the reasons behind it to ask that He let me love it or think He loves it. I can & do ask Him to help me love ME, who HE created me to be & all He has planned for me to do. I know He loves the me inside & He sees & knows my heart of hearts. But to love the destruction to the temple, no. To rebuild & take care of it yes, I can pray for that.
I find this tough. While I can believe that I am wonderfully and fearfully made, I am critical of my belly, saddlebags and cellulite. I can appreciate them for what they have done/do ( babies, walking, etc), but it feels like if I love them then I will accept them as is. This is a struggle of mine – to set my mind on God and stop worrying about vanity. The worldly part still wants to look a certain way in clothes and in a bathing suit – how I did about 5 years ago (although to be honest I was critical then) I guess I’ll pray about wanting to pray to love them :). Baby steps…. I have been praying to see body as Ge does so I guess that’s a step in the right direction.
I’m praying to love my stomach. I’ve always been critical of that part–even when I didn’t have an issue. I feel like it becomes greed at that point for me.
Well, Heidi, as usual this timing is perfect. I really wanted to ignore this blog entry, I don’t want to love the things that I want to change. So, of course, that’s where God wants me to work.
This morning I spent a good amount of time in prayer. I have felt distanced lately from God and frustrated that I’m not seeing physical changes (well, I don’t weigh, but clothes aren’t fitting differently). I’m sure the 2 are related – my distance from Him, my focus on me. See the me, my….
I realized that I am focusing on “me” and my vanity again, and not God. In order to love Him with my whole heart I have to accept my body as it is (cellulite, belly, saddlebags and all). This is what I wrote in my journal “I am asking the Lord to root out from my heart this vanity, to give me full acceptance of and gratitude for my body, so that I am free to fully love Him.” I am really resistant to do this – just as I was to give up dieting and then to give up eating in front of the TV. But I want to live in His freedom so I will follow His lead. As I read Acts today, I thought about the apostles and how they probably didn’t worry about how they looked when they were walking in the Spirit and bringing others to Christ!
**If you all haven’t read The Pursuit of God by AW Tozer, I highly recommend it. It’s a small but powerful book. I have only read 4 chapters, but am convicted by it already.
I left out the part where God showed my that I have greed in my heart – ouch! I realized months ago that this food/body issue is a heart matter, but I didn’t know quite specifically how. Well, He revealed to me that while I can be greedy in food/drink matters (want the last bite, “need” a sweet, have to have that drink), the worse sin is the greediness in my life – this perfectly healthy, functioning body isn’t enough, I am greedy with my time, etc. I have a lot of praying to do on this….would appreciate your prayers as well.