Girls change in front of each other. At least my friends and
I did when I was growing up. It was a little easier then because there was a
lot less confusion. We knew we were girls and we knew we liked
boys. I’m not going there with this story.
I don’t remember even having one single conversation about that topic as
a teenager. The world is a different
place for teenagers today.
I was with a friend in college. We were changing to go
somewhere and I happen to look over at her. She was tall and thin. It occurred to me, she is the fattest skinny
girl I have ever seen. I was telling
another friend about it. She said “Of
course she is fat. She’s always been
fat.” I said she is a whole lot skinnier than me. How can a skinny person be
fat? She said, “Skinny doesn’t mean that
you are healthy and it for sure doesn’t mean you are fit.” She went on to say, “You weigh a lot more
than I do but you are also a lot more fit than I am.”
Our skinny fat friend was beautiful and I’m not shaming her
for being skinny. I always wanted to be
tall and thin. I am neither. Short and thick would better describe my
stature.
I hate all the labels that go along with weight. The important thing is to be healthy. I mean
mentally, emotionally, physically, and especially spiritually healthy.
Like many others, I struggled with my body image earlier in
life. I was healthy and fit but not
skinny. My Mama was skinny. I wanted to be little like her. In middle-school I refused to eat. There’s a word for that, anorexia. I didn’t know it was a thing back then. I got skinny.
Did people bow down and tell me how awesome it was that I
was skinny? NO! What I heard was “She’s
too skinny.”, “She doesn’t eat”, “She needs a hamburger.” I still didn’t think
I was skinny enough. I think at that
time I weighed around 98lbs. I’m only 5’1
so it isn’t as skinny as you think.
My anorexia did not get treated with counseling. When my parents had enough of it they decide
to end it. My Dad brought me a plate of
biscuit and gravy. He said, in a gruff
tone, “You will eat this and you will go back to eating like a normal person or
else you won’t play basketball again! And, I mean it!” He did mean it. I argued briefly. Then he said, “We can stop
you. You can’t play if we tell the school you can’t. Eat it or not but you won’t
be allowed to do anything if you don’t.”
I wasn’t about to quit basketball or be stuck at home. I ate the food. Even after that day, I had a good friend who
would always encourage me to eat. Every time I went to her house she’d watch to
make sure I was eating. It was
okay. My bout with anorexia was over.
Again: I hate all the labels that go along with weight. The important thing is to be healthy. I mean mentally, emotionally, physically, and
especially spiritually healthy.
Don’t worry about the labels other people give you. Be
careful of the labels you give yourself.
You are beautifully and wonderfully made. Be you.
I want to be fit. I’ve
taken some time away from working out and my body has noticed. I want to be
healthy. I’ve spent a year eating food
that wasn’t fuel for my body. Inflammation is a beast and the root cause for
most disease. I must focus more on
nutrition and exercise. I want to feel
healthy like I did in my twenties. Don’t
laugh! With proper nutrition and
exercise, it is possible and I will do it.
I will be fit and healthy. I will
look, feel, and have the vigor of a twenty-year-old. I claim it.
I claim my health in Jesus name.
The bible says He wants us to prosper even as our soul prospers.
I say all of that to say this:
To achieve that twenty-year-old level of health and fitness
I must make sacrifices. I must refrain
and limit myself on some things I enjoy greatly like cookies, french- fries,
and bread. I must totally abstain from
my favorite addiction – Diet Pepsi. Victory
won’t come without a fight.
The same is true in my spiritual life. If I am ever to reach my potential in Christ
it means I must limit myself in some areas.
It also means totally abstaining in other areas, especially with my
favorite sin. Stop, don’t judge me. We all have a favorite sin. In the Bible Paul
called it a thorn in his side.
“Therefore, since we
are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us
strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily
trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1 NLT
