Fearfully, Wonderfully

I have an average body and an undying love for anything cooked in a ballpark concession stand.

When I wake up in the morning, promise you me, it is no Maybelline commercial. In fact, one could easily mistake me for that little fuzzy, red Muppet guy anytime between seven and ten A.M. You know him. The one with the hair and the teeth.

Speaking of, I have yet to see one of those mornings when I didn’t have to squeeze my size ten body into my size eight jeans. Squatting. Kicking. The whole shebang. I’ve brought it upon myself, too, because, to be honest, I don’t think there has ever been a time that I have turned down pizza, and probably will never deprive myself of such. Especially where extra cheese is involved.

Furthermore, I am five-foot tall.

Country songs about legs for days were not written with me in mind. I have legs for about 2.5 seconds that come to an abrupt halt at some toes that unfortunately resemble cocktail weenies. When I laugh my nostrils flare, almost as if I’ve sprouted wings on my face. I bite my fingernails. My face breaks out on occasion. And sometimes when I sit down funny, tiny (probably unnoticeable) dimples appear on my thighs – but I see them.

Now the point of all of this is not to throw a pity party for my flaws, I know I’m not ugly. The point is, as a woman, strong and beautiful as I may be – I have always struggled with self-image and feeling inadequate by the world’s standards. Before I was married it was: Whose head will I turn next? Whose attention can I get? Loving myself in the skin I was gifted has just never come easy. 

But guess what?

I have captured the attention of One far greater than the rest.

Psalm 139:14 tells me that I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Solomon goes on to say, “…Your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” In Genesis 1 verse 27, the Bible tells us that, “God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God He created them…” It was almost as if He [God] couldn’t stress the point enough, so He just went ahead and said it twice. And then, continuing in verse 31, the Word says that, “God saw all that He had made, and it was very good.” 

I may not be the prettiest, skinniest girl with washboard abs or an airbrushed face. And after a long week of work, I may cut a few corners in the gym, but what I am, is made in the image of a holy, perfect, and matchless God.

This body that is no stranger to pain. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.)

This body that has seen and experienced joy in its purest of forms. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.)

This body that has been home to and felt the quakes of the most broken of hearts. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.) 

This body that carried and nourished three of the most beautiful tiny people. One into heaven and two into the world. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.) 

This body is attached to the hands and the feet that have made the mistakes. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.) 

This body that is tired, but so fulfilled after serving her home day in and day out. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.)

This body with the flared nostrils and the dimples and the legs. (Fearfully. Wonderfully.) 

So next time you’re looking in the mirror, wondering how someone could ever love or think the girl squeezed into those size four, six, eight, or ten jeans is beautiful – make sure to remind yourself that God saw all that He had made, and it was good. 

Fearfully. Wonderfully.