Hey Friends!
Last night at dinner I noticed one of my young daughters wasn’t eating again. She took one bite of grilled chicken and declared she was full. Thankfully John and the kids headed outside soon after, and over our game of Sorry I could ask my girl about how she was doing – really.
After bursting out into big crocodile tears, she privately shared that she feels fat. Thinks her legs jiggle too much. When she looks at her friends in their tank tops, she feels like her stomach sticks out too much (fyi – she has NO stomach!) Friends, if you saw my daughter, you’d quickly see she is petite, tiny, and has almost zero fat on her body.
I have a renewed passion to be a voice of TRUTH in this media-driven, air brushed, vanity infused culture. Will you join me? Please?
For starters, let’s begin with us.
May we look in the mirror and declare, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made. I am beautiful – just the way that I am”. Not focusing on our imperfections, but extending grace and acceptance to how God has made us (yes, that includes muffin tops, small chests, large chests, flappy arms or whatever “problem areas” you focus on!)
Then TODAY let’s remind one person (or more, but even one person would be a blessing) that they are BEAUTIFUL based on their heart and their character, and not the size of their jeans.
Please?? Pretty please???
Will you let us know when you do?
Here’s a repost from when I first noticed my daughter was struggling. Enjoy the repost…
Is it just me, or is anyone else tired of being bombarded with ads, books, commericals and diet talk EVERY WHERE! Ugh.
Please know, I am all for health, whole living, and caring for our temples ~ but really, if I see one more “before and after” picture I might just lose my lunch.
There really is more to life than just the size of our jeans.
Maybe I’m in such a bunch because, although I am committed to living “Fat Talk Free,” ~ the unhealthy “Thin is In” message is negatively impacting my home. In a big way.
And it’s horrible.
I had to take one of my precious kids to our family physician yesterday because she doesn’t want to eat. Why??
Because she doesn’t want to get fat.
Can you believe it?? John and I are watching her lose weight, having to monitor her eating, and remind her that food is not bad. Eating too much is bad, but eating to care for our body is necessary.
My heart is breaking over here.
Thankfully as we left the doctor’s office (who is the best pediatrician in the whole wide world), I asked my daughter what she learned. (We were with our doctor for over 40 minutes, so I was hoping she was listening!) My daughter shared….
* I’m not fat.
* I can eat more.
* If someone calls me fat, I can let it blow away.
My daughter is a tiny little thing (50 percentile for height/weight)….and yet she hears people getting teased at school for being fat. So she decided not eating would help solve her problem.
Thankfully I think we caught it in time.
This isn’t always the case.
Please take just a few minutes and watch this video. It’s Jessica Simpson interviewing model Isabella Caro on Jessica’s show “The Price of Beauty“.
It’s just a few minutes long ~ I think you’ll be so glad you watched!
Unfortunately Isabella was not able to win her battle with anorexia, and died tragically this past November 2010.
Oh friends, may God use us to be a voice of Truth, hope, and life in the lives of others!
May we stop saying things like, “You look great ~ you lost weight, didn’t you?” and instead see the hearts and souls of those we come in contact with.
(For the person who said that to me at church on Sunday, it’s ok. I know you were trying to be helpful.)
May God gives us eyes to see love and joy and patience and kindness and gentleness in others ~ and may we affirm those important character qualities with our words.
And may we be careful of the words we share (even about ourselves), ESPECIALLY when little ears are listening.
What about for you?? How do you stay healthy and Truth filled in this area? I would love to hear from you!
Thanks for stopping by *She Sparkles*. God’s richest blessings to you!!
P.S. Thank you for all of your kind comments about my new “fruit diet“. For obvious reasons, I’m changing the name to my “Fruit-filled healthy living plan”. It’s working GREAT ~ in the midst of a full, challenging week, I am experiencing God’s peace, joy, victory, and satisfaction. Following hard after Him is the best healthy living plan of all! 🙂
Unfortunately, weight is something I constantly battle with. Praying for your dear daughter.
I needed to read this tonight, Cindy. I was just lamenting about my weight and body to my husband this evening who turned around and simply said Ephesians 2:10. How I wish I just believed that without letting the lies of the world and the enemy creep in so, so often.
We do see through a glass darkly! Thank you for encouraging us to do battle for our children by reinforcing their worth to The King! When we as parents and grandparents look at them through eyes of love they see that worth reflected.
My heart breaks for your daughter and for you as her mother. The world/media has succumbed to the lies that Satan tells us. And we are so vulnerable to these words that even at a young age children (girls and boys) believe they are not valuable because of perceived body image. Fearfully and wonderfully made is the theme of my blog and why after decades of listening to the lies, that I have been able to work through the baggage and believe His truths!
Thank you so much for this post. May God use it to share His view of us with others!
I may struggle with my weight, but lately I have been thinking of just calling it a struggle with gluttony – my weight (40 pounds above healthy) is not as much of a jean size problem as it is a problem with putting food above other things . . . I don’t think I put it above God, but if He’s large and in charge of my life and I surrender, then food should not be so tempting.
My kids are super healthy, and occassionally one of them will say something about worry about weight, and I cringe because I’m afraid that they’ve heard it from me. I reassure them that they are healthy, they are beautiful inside and out, and they are loved.
Praying for you, and your daughter, and all of us who struggle with the world’s view of beauty.