Jul
12
2014
Badge Of Honor
Posted in Family Life 4 Comments
The human body is amazing.
God created a masterpiece when He created His image bearers.
Even though we sometimes muddy the waters a bit and obscure His image, it is still there.
Think about the fact the no two people have the same fingerprints.
There are 206 bones in the human body.
Half of those bones are in the hands and feet.
The amazing way the body fights infection and heals itself should astound us.
The conception and birth of a baby should cause us to marvel.
The rapid rate at which we learn should cause us to pause.
Yet instead of marveling we complain.
We complain about our weight, our height, our hair color, our eye color.
We critique the masterpiece we have been given.
We wouldn’t dare walk into the Louvre in Paris and verbally assault a work of art.
We may have our opinions, we may dislike a particular painting, but we show restraint.
We respect the artist enough to appreciate what he was trying to convey in his work.
However, when it comes to God’s masterpiece, we think nothing of criticizing the Artist.
We think nothing of telling Him what He did wrong.
We think nothing of looking at His creation with disdain.
Day after day we are bombarded with images of people taking art in their own hands.
People changing the masterpiece God created.
Instead of looking unique, people want to look like everyone else.
There is a standard that is set by the world that many try to achieve.
It is a false standard based on air brushing and Photoshopping.
It is false perfection that is being sought.
It doesn’t exist!
People choose to undergo surgery to enhance, reduce, narrow, and lengthen.
People see their bodies as something to be manipulated to a personal preference.
People select to change what God has designed.
It is inevitable that our bodies will change as we age.
Our hair turns gray.
Our middle section widens.
Everything seems to droop and sag a bit more.
Bones and joints creak; there is more stiffness each morning.
Natural cycles change as we age.
Yet instead of embracing those changes, we set out to erase them.
We purpose to have a twenty-year-old body with fifty-something memories.
Impossible.
I actually feel sad when I see pictures of beautiful women after undergoing plastic surgery.
It never looks real.
Their natural beauty has been nipped and tucked away.
What kind of message are we sending to our young children, especially our daughters?
What are we lifting up in importance?
What are we saying when we complain about our hips, or our stomachs, or our “fat days”?
How much emphasis are we putting on the state of the heart?
We all need to take care of ourselves.
We all need to exercise, eat well, and sleep well.
We all need to have healthy habits and stay away from those things that will harm us.
After we do all we can do, we are still thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, seventy, eighty, or ninety.
We should be grateful to turn the next age, realizing that God still has work for us to do.
The number of our age is insignificant; the state of our heart is timeless.
After delivering five children, my stomach is the softest part of me.
It has always been where my children lay their head.
No amount of sit-ups or an additional mile of walking will change it much.
Why fret?
I began to affectionately call those changes my badge of honor.
Those changes are visible proof that I have lived and loved.
Those changes are welcome because they mark the life I have lived.
Every person ages differently.
Some people can eat whatever they want and not gain an ounce.
Some people need to simply smell a dessert tray and they will gain ten pounds.
We are all different.
Cherish that difference!
Embrace the age you are, in all its fullness.
The best face-lift is a smile.
A smile that comes from real, deep-down joy on the inside.
Joy that comes from knowing you are loved by the God who created you perfectly.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
Fearfully and wonderfully made.
God does not make mistakes.
The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7)
We must take care of our bodies since they are temples of the Holy Spirit.
Doesn’t it make sense that what we really need to work on is our heart?
If that is what God looks at, then that is where we need to put our attention.
However, we obsess over our bodies.
We worry and fret over pounds and inches.
We care too much about how we look.
Let’s purpose to care first and foremost about what only God sees.
The Joy of the Lord on your face and in your countenance will change your appearance.
You will exude Joy that is so incredibly beautiful.
The kind of beauty that is not man-made.
The kind of beauty that will last.
Gina, this is so true–it’s part of our country’s preoccupation with “image”, material things, “success” . I have to admit sometimes I’m dissatisfied with the signs of aging, and I need to remember all that is good about my body at this age! I still have a good mind, a decent body, pretty good health, and best of all God’s Spirit in me! I am “fearfully and wonderfully made”!
Sue,
We women need to encourage each other more and help each other see the beauty that God sees. we women need to help our daughters be comfortable and pleased with who they are. Ultimately, if our identity is in Christ, it is His beauty that will shine through.
Gina
Gina, this is just beautiful…and so necessary for women to understand. I’ve often thought that the oldest faces are the most beautiful ones and they are usually women who have accepted the “beauty marks” that life imprints on them. So thank you for this insight, it made my day! Ciao bella!
You’re welcome, friend!
It is so wonderful to go through this life together…with friends who embrace every stage of life with JOY! Friends like you!
Gina