“I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well." Psalm 139:14 CSB.
Surrounded by a wall of mirrors in a dressing room, I looked down to see that my ten-year-old daughter was beginning to well up with tears. I could tell that her hopes were dashed when the dress she tried on didn’t look the way she had imagined. As I heard her say some all-too-familiar negative words to herself, my heart broke into a million pieces. I realized at that moment I had been a horrible example to her. The disparaging words I had used so freely about my own body image were being absorbed by her like a sponge whenever she was with me trying on clothes.
As I looked at my reflection in the mirror, God led me to see that these unscriptural comments had caused an “ugly” ripple effect that was not from Him. I had created a distorted silhouette passed down to my daughter, and I recognized I needed God’s help to stop the pattern.
After we got home, I had to steal away for alone time and cried out to God. I asked Him to get rid of the lies of how I viewed myself that had been with me since I could remember and replace them with His Truth. During that time of prayer I felt His presence and envisioned Him showing me a vase. It was an exquisite vase He created and gave to me to enjoy. Then I felt Him saying, “You wouldn't smash it on the floor and call it trash, right? So, why do that to your body which I have created for you so wonderfully?"
Immediately, God reminded me of this verse. “I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well." Psalm 139:14 CSB.
Sometimes, without being aware, we moms have the greatest negative influence on our kids. God tells us in His word that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” Luke 6:45. In other words, what we allow to take root inside of us, good or bad, is what will come forth into the atmosphere. It is with God’s spoken Word that we can overcome the lies which have taken residence in our hearts and minds. When we go beyond knowing to actually believing what God says is true, that's when the transformation happens. God wants us to love our bodies and see that what He made is good as described in Genesis 1:31 ”God saw all that He made, and it was very good indeed.” The enemy likes to use whatever he can to sabotage our understanding of how wondrously God designed us and how He sees His creation.
Having children has radically changed us; we have a responsibility to edify and encourage them. But we can’t speak life into them if we are not doing the same for ourselves. The exchange happens between us and God when we trade our insecurities for His secure truth. When we check into His confidence, believing and living in who He says we are, there’s no vacancy for bad self-talk. Feeding on scripture renews our minds and aligns our perspective to the view God originally intended - good, beautiful, wondrous, remarkable, and precious we are to Him. So the next time we find ourselves in a dressing room, let’s remember the vase and His life-giving scriptures for the generations to come.
Your fellow Able Mom,
Jayme Elizabeth Gradwell
Father, we thank you that we are secure in who you say we are. Thank you for helping us to speak words of truth about our body image and to pass down confidence in you to future generations. Put a stop to any unhealthy patterns so our children will know how uniquely beautiful they are inside and out. Amen
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