Just The Way You Are

Hello, my beauties!
 I know, it's been quite a while. Life, you know?
Right! Onward!

Today I want to talk about something that I believe bothers a lot of girls and women: our bodies

 I personally struggle with this; feeling 'chubby' and just kinda 'loose', you know? I don't necessarily feel fat, (a word girls commonly use to describe their bodies) but I always feel like I could be thinner, fitter.
 On bad days it can kind of an obsession; as I flip though magazines or browse through Pinterest and see all these super-skinny models with their long, lean limbs and thin faces. I sometimes feel like crying as I look down at myself, feeling frumpy and as thick as a tree trunk.
 My main insecurities revolve around my arms and lower body, since I don't have the thinnest upper arms and I have always felt too wide in the hips area.

 I'm telling you this because I want you to realize that we all have our insecurities and worries when it comes to our bodies, but it needs to stop. 

God crafted you with His own hands, to be a special, unique individual. To be beautifully you.
 Comparing ourselves to others has always been the downfall of many a female(I hear men do it, too!) and all it does it create discontentment and depression.

 We look at that thin girl with the tiny waist, slender arms and long legs and feel that our not-so-tiny waist is the size of a watermelon, our arms look like sausages and our legs are short pudgy things.
 But we're wrong! No, no, we're beautiful!
I have heard girls say things like. "I wish I could look like you." 
 Me? What now?
It's a never-ending cycle. The 'skinny' girls want to be more rounded, the 'curvy' girls want to be thinner, and we juggle diets, and exercise, and soon we become anxious and depressed. We can't achieve "that girl's" body and at some point, we're going to break down.

We all fall into this little trap without meaning to. All our focus is on ourselves instead of others.
 I know personally, how hurtful it can be to have someone thinner and "prettier" than you to constantly say, "Oh, I am so fat. I'm so ugly."
 Tears sometimes well in your eyes and sometimes you even feel angry. You want to scream at them, "You're gorgeous, I'm not! How dare you complain!"
Without meaning to, I find myself sometimes doing the same thing, though, and have other girls react in that way.
No one, not even you (who thinks of yourself as chubby or skinny, or ugly) has the right to complain.
 Because guess what?
If you're created with wider hips and shorter legs, no dieting or exercising in the world is going to change you. That's you.
 And why would you want to change? You're gorgeous, just the way you are!

I believe in being healthy. Eating the correct amount of nutrients, keeping a low sugar intake, and I do think exercising is very good for your heart, lungs, and muscles.
 That being said, it should not become your life.
Being healthy is a lifestyle, yes, but it's not your life.
 And if you are having a bad day, and just want to eat chocolate, and cake, and snacky foods, it's not terrible if you do allow yourself that.
 Because we can't be healthy all the time! Don't stress about it.
 I was so worried about staying fit, keeping slim, eating my veggies and cutting out carb, it became almost an idol for me. I worked out until my legs were aching, my arms sore, but I really didn'y get that much slimmer. So I did more. And more. And I became frustrated.
I was revolving my life around my body.

I wasn't putting my focus on the Lord, I wasn't striving to correct myself in places I have failed, I wasn't even caring about the state of my heart. Just how flat my tummy was.
 I had to realize that life wasn't about me. It was about serving the Lord.

The person reading this post right now.
 I want you to sit back, and close your eyes, and take a breath.
Now remember what a loving God you have. Think about the mountains, the rivers, the trees, flowers, birds... all the many wonders of nature and the world.
 Now think about this: The amazing God that created all of those beautiful things, the things that bring a smile to your face, thought the world needed one more beautiful thing.

You. 

Now smile. Because you're beautiful, just the way you are, and when people look at you, they see a wonderful person. A jewel. A treasure. Not a size or number.

I want you to always remember that.

Have a blessed day, beautiful. 

Remember, you're the daughter of a King. You're a princess, you're beautiful and you're loved.