So, I have to admit.... this blog has nothing to do with straws. Hopefully it'll get the message across and tie in at the end. This post was a bit harder for me to write than some of the others... mostly because it is more personal for me. But I have seen this issue over and over again... and it has really been impressed upon my heart to write about it tonight.
Have you ever wanted to change something about yourself? Your hair, your eyes, how tall (or short) you are? I remember back in high school I hated my hair -- hated that it was curly and there was nothing I could do about it. Once too often there had been snide remarks made about it. One specific time "Sam," not knowing that I could hear her, said "she looks like a poodle." As I walked through the door, she turns around, her jaw drops open and she says "Oh my gosh, I'm soo sorry, I didn't know you would hear that." C'mon... I was in the next room right outside the door and the ceilings were open rafters in the cabin. The saying goes "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me." How untrue that statement really is. I've gotten over what she and some of the girls said... but I will never forget it. It never ceases to amaze me how snide and nasty girls can get when you don't look "perfect."
Speaking of perfect... how about our bodies girls? Ever wanted to change something about that? More specifically... those numbers that come up blinking red on the scale? Those horrible numbers. But when did numbers on a scale ever define who a person is?
Your beauty and your worth is not how much you weigh.
It doesn't matter if there are two numbers on that scale or three.
YOU are MORE than NUMBERS on a SCALE.
This next part is something that not many people know about me... but it began my Sophomore/Junior year of high school... I'm not even sure what triggered it. I started to be very conscious of what I ate. Not starving myself... but not necessarily eating as much as I should and could. At this point in my life I was working about 20 hours a week, trying to keep up with school, taking art, voice, and piano lessons, doing TI competition, and participating in the local high school band, choir, and musical. I was busy, I was stressed, and I was lonely. Sometimes I'd get so busy I'd forget to eat... or simply didn't. This went on for some time. After a while I realized that this issue could get way out of hand if I kept on like I was. It kind of hit me that I wasn't treating my body with respect.
God hadn't GIVEN my body to me... He was letting me BORROW it to do His work during my life.
Once I realized this I snapped out of this fog that I had been living in. It was ridiculous now that I think about it. I'd get migraines from not eating properly, I wouldn't be able to focus on my school work, the list could go on. Now, yes, I'm health conscious... I eat healthy food... but I can hold my own if you put a package of Oreos in front of me. Do I sit around all day doing nothing? No, I love to run - preferably outside, and going to the gym is a stress reliever for me. I don't do it because I HAVE to, or because I need to lose weight. I do it because I enjoy the exercise and the workouts.
The media today plays a huge part in the way women look at themselves. With photoshop and editing features -- the artists can alter one's appearance drastically. About 75% of the time the finished product, doesn't even look like the original model. Did you know that the average model today is less than half the size of models 20 or 30 years ago? Marilyn Monroe was a women's size 12/14. And she was and is considered one of the most beautiful actresses known. YOU are worth MORE than the size of your clothing!! What happened to change our view of our bodies? What happened to men liking "curvy" women? Oh, they like curves alright... those curves are ribs showing through skin and protruding hip and shoulder bones.
Even the little girls are being bombarded with clothing sizes and appearance. Did you know that if the original Barbie of the 90s was life-size she would be so disproportionate she'd have to crawl around on all-fours? She would also be physically incapable of holding her head up because it is so much larger than her neck. Now I know there are some Christian families out there that do not allow their daughters to play with Barbies. They say it will make her think differently of her body image. And that's all fine and good... its the parent's discretion. I did not come from said family... on the contrary... I had boxes full of Barbies that my best friend and I played with for hours on end. But I didn't want to look like Barbie - she wore too much make-up and looked fake! (those were my exact thoughts as child). I remember the "special occasions" when my mom would bring out her old Barbie dolls from the 1960s and let me play with them. They looked SO weird! But as I was surfing the web with a friend a few days ago we came across the following picture...
There's a quote that says "I used to skinny dip.... Now I chunky dunk." That's hysterical... if the female listening takes it that way.
For the Guys: If you're reading this... have you ever made one of the following comments to a girlfriend, sister, or female friend?
When picking her up: "Man you're heavy."
"Have you gained weight?"
"You've got a little pooch."
"You've got cushion for the pushin."
"You have love handles."
Be careful what you say... even if its in a joking manner... the smallest little comment or joke can have a girl thinking and twisting it in her mind. Now is it your fault that she twists it? No, of course not. But by simply being careful what you say -- can make a huge difference in some girl's life. It may have been a perfectly innocent comment... but to her... your opinion may mean the world.
So be the crazy straw (with curves) in the world of straight ones. Be confident in who you are.
In my oh so short lifetime... I have found that the most beautiful women -- are the confident ones. The women who are not necessarily a size 0 or even a size 2 or 4. They are confident because they know that they are worth something.
YOU are worth something.
YOU are worth MUCH MORE than the numbers on a scale.
YOU are worth MUCH MORE than the numbers on clothes.
Great post!
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