Just the Way You Are

song of solomon 4:7

God tells us that we're essentially perfect just the way we are and that we have not been mistakenly formed in anyway.  yes, the sin is imperfect, but basically God loves us despite our physical appearance and teaches us to love our bodies because we dont all take the exact same form--how boring would that be?  to be sure, we can strive to improve the physical condition of our bodies and glorify God through good health, but we ought not hate our bodies to any extreme and fall into the habit of eating disorders.

for me, a girl bombarded by specific messages regarding the "definition" of feminine beauty in the eyes of the world, the verse stands out in particular as God's message for me to be careful of how far i go in my attempts to glorify him more (since our bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit).  because those attempts are also tempered by the desire to conform to societal perceptions of beauty to a certain degree, and that holds relatively high potential for going sour :x so i shall be on my best guard.

the endeavors of the courageous woman that started the beautiful body book project and the valiant ones who participated are details in the video found at this link: tinyurl.com/noteworthy521.  as mothers whose bodies now look different than the societal standards for physical perfection, they braved the lens to show that beauty is in the eye of the beholder--and encourage others to stand firm against judgement of their physique.  it caught my eye and particularly speaks to me: i ought not let the world define me or twist my self-image, especially considering that God loves me no matter what--just the way [i am].

today, i will not think unfair thoughts about my appearance.  rather, i will remind myself of song of solomon 4:7--memorize it and be reasonable.