Red Lip Society

I was sitting with a group of ladies the other day, having a great conversation, when the newest member of our little group started trying to tell us about a conversation she had with another lady we all knew.  She couldn’t think of her name and was trying to describe her.

She mentioned the color of her hair…. how tall she was.  Then she said, “She’s kinda…you know…fluffy.”  We all just sat there having no idea who she was talking about.

We finally did figure it out after asking a few more questions that I will leave out.  I mean, I doubt that this person will ever read this…..but it is the internet, ya know.

Anyways…..you could have landed a 747 in my mouth when I realized who she had been trying to describe.  I have known this lady for quite some time now and one thing I have never thought of her as is “fluffy”.  If I am going to be honest, and I might as well be since I have been so open about other things on my blog, I have always been a little jealous of her.  She is soooo pretty and sooo sweet!  She is always so put together.  I don’t know a single person that doesn’t think she is just the greatest thing in the world, myself included.

And for someone to have called her “fluffy”!  At this point, I completely tuned out of the rest of the conversation…..

This started my mind to turning.  I’m pretty sure our “fluffy” friend would have been distraught for someone to have called her that even though the other person was merely trying to be descriptive and I know didn’t mean it to be mean-spirited or hateful.

I tell you this story to tell you one thing.  Mirror, mirror, on the wall, you don’t own me!

You see, I have been feeling a little “fluffy” myself lately.  At first, I was tore up!  I changed some of my fitness goals and started drinking more water.  My meal planning game was on point!  I was a woman obsessed. Then I reminded myself that I am not supposed to have the body of a twenty year old because…guess what!!  I’m not twenty.

But you know what I am?  I am healthy.  I am strong-ish. I am fit-ish.  (I add the -ish because your girl likes potatoes…. in any form. #kissmeimirish)

More importantly, I am made in the image of God!  And there is nothing wrong with my 30-something year old body.

There is nothing wrong with the silver strands that are shining like strands of glitter through my brown hair.  The lines around my eyes tell people that I like to laugh.

There is nothing wrong with me being a little thicker in some areas than in others…..that is how God designed me.

That is not to say that I should be unhealthy.  And let me say this…..skinny doesn’t mean you are healthy nor does having a little meat on you mean you are unhealthy.  Go for a walk, drink more water, and eat some vegetables that aren’t fried or swimming in cheese or butter (because we tend to ruin vegetables here in the South) and you will be on your way to being healthier.

I’ve been too skinny before.  I let someone I was dating make me so self-conscious about everything I put in my mouth.  I would literally hide to eat and then be ridden with guilt for days and be full of self-loathing because I had eaten something that I “shouldn’t have.”  That is no way to live!

I would look in the mirror judging myself, all the while so hungry for something that tasted good.

ACTION STEP

I want you to go look in the mirror.  Go right now!  You point your finger at that thing and tell it, “You don’t own me! You don’t define me!  I am made perfectly in the image of God!”

Psalms 139:15-16a says

My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret, And skillfully wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed.

You were skillfully created.  Great thought and care was put into designing you.

So if you want to go to the gym, you kill those weights!  If you want a brownie, you eat and enjoy it!  Life needs balance as well as structure.

Just remember who God says you are and that He designed you.  And that mirror is not the boss of you.