I sat
at the red plastic coated metal picnic table enjoying lunch with a wonderful
group of young ladies. There were five
young ladies under the age of 13. We were
famished from our adventurous day of play in the amusement park. I looked around the table at the diversified
bodies in all shades and sizes. Each lovely face was a beautiful sight to
behold; an amazing work of art to behold and created by God. I was asked to say
a blessing over our food and was glad to do so.
I bowed my head to pray and caught a glance at the plates of food,
equally diversified. Some of us had full
sandwiches and fries, some just fries or a sandwich, and lastly, glasses of water
and a pickle. My mind was puzzled at the food choices before me but the food
had to be blessed first; questions would soon follow.
I said Amen but I didn’t eat just yet.
I asked why my companion did not have more than water and a pickle. She replied that her Grandma and Mom thought
she was getting fat. She was eating light so as not to gain more weight. I told her that was ridiculous. She was thick
and muscular and she needed to embrace this body God blessed her with. She smiled and looked away. I knew she would believe the lie from her
family over the truth of the Bible;
body and soul, she is marvelously
made (Proverbs 139:14)
My eyes moved around the table to another young
lady. I asked her why she had her t-shirt sleeves pulled up and the legs of her
shorts rolled back. She replied with
this, “I am very white. I need to tan because I have a nice body and should
show it.” My mouth dropped open but only
for a second. I told her to be comfortable
in the skin she was in and to avoid skin cancer while she was at it.
Another young lady wore wedges to the park because
she needed to look taller. She believed
it made her appear skinny, but her feet were hurting. She was also practicing wearing heals so she
can be presentable before a king. I
asked her “what king?” I heard back, “I don’t
know, my Mom tells me this all the time.”
Another
young lady barely talked. I knew her story.
She felt dumb so she rarely said a word.
Lastly, a seven year old feels that everything is her fault and carries
the weight of the world on her shoulder. She angry even now, as we eat lunch.
Are you in tears yet?
I was just sitting there. I, after all, am the mother of the seven year
old. Ladies and Gentlemen, Youth
leaders, Pastors, Moms and Dads, Aunty, Uncle, and Grandparents too, we should
be ashamed of ourselves for teaching these young ladies the very lies they believe
to be truth. Yes, this is our
fault.
Before I get
the hate comments, I shall explain. The children of today look to the adults
that matter most in their lives for direction.
Society doesn’t help by plastering the fake bodies all over the
magazines, TV shows, and social media. However,
it is our job to tell these girls the truth for their lives. They are made perfect in the sight of God.
They are unique, beautiful, and smart.
But instead, as adults, we put on our fake hair, fake nails, fake
eyelashes, and fake makeup daily. We tan our skin if it is too white and
lighten our skin if too dark. We buy a
new wardrobe every few months because we have to stay with the fashions to look
good. We obsess over the mirror on a bad
hair day and condemn our bodies in front of these girls. The men look at
younger scantily dressed women, and secretly wished for their bodies. We are
always on a fad diet instead of just eating healthy and moving, just as our
bodies were created to do. We are so uncomfortable in our own skin that there
is no way we can expect our children to be comfortable in theirs.
I am sicken
by all this. I made a decision long ago to change the way I
feel about myself, simply because I saw my daughter call herself ugly. She didn’t look like her friend: tall, dark
skinned, and perfect hair. My daughter had light skin and freckles. She told me she never wanted to get as big as
I was. I told her that I loved my body
the way it was. It was a lie. I lied to my child. My heart broke, not at the comments she made
but at the lie I told her. I didn’t love
my body. I am not sure many of us
do. Why would someone put up a fake
self when the real self is good enough?
If we are
good enough for our Jesus to offer his life up, then that should be enough to
love ourselves. Let’s start loving our bodies.
Let’s vow to never say a negative thing about ourselves. While we are at it, let’s be natural and
perfect in the skin we are in. You and I
were created to be unique and wonderful works of art. So no more bashing God’s creation. Our future generation will be beautiful
because of it, just the way they are.
