Let's Talk Insecurities
Let’s talk insecurities: My body & face are covered in freckles & moles. Austyn was snuggling in bed with me this morning, looked up & stroked my face saying “Awww mom! You have so many little dots on your face. They are BEAUTIFUL!” She was in absolute awe. Growing up, I was so embarrassed by my skin & all the marks all over it. Now I don’t mind them at all. They give me personality. Besides, beauty is clearly in the eye of the beholder. Speaking of eyes... I have one eye that doesn’t open as much as the other & one corner of my mouth that droops down a little. One time someone even asked me if I’d been a stroke victim. My toes aren’t cute. They never have been. I still remember the couple times in middle school (kids, y’all need to be nicer!) that people called attention to my toes! I hated swimming week for PE because I was so afraid people would make fun of my feet. Something I discovered during my first pregnancy holds true still today, 7 years later. The second I become pregnant, my face doubles in size. (That’s probably an exaggeration, but that’s what it feels like to me.#preggoandpuffy #babynumber3) I have stretch marks on my inner thighs and even on my biceps from all the times I yo-yo’d in weight in my early twenties due to my auto immune disease & then they become more noticeable when I suddenly dropped 15 lbs after my husband died. And, again with every pregnancy since. AND, all you mamas out there know what this looks like without my going into too much detail but, let’s just say my chest just isn’t what it used to be, three thriving pregnancies & two years of breastfeeding two babies later... I could go on and on, if I tried... But I honestly have to think pretty hard about the things I used to HATE about myself. I’m still AWARE of these things, I suppose. But I don’t pick myself apart because of them anymore. They don’t bother me. They are just part of me. All of these flaws are a part of who I am, who I’m becoming, and what I’ve been through. I used to think so much about how I looked. In my late teens & early twenties, I spent ample amounts of time thinking about what I could change about myself if I could to make myself look more “perfect.” Part of this might be because of what society seems to portray, convincing us we are never enough. But, part of it might be because I grew up around women who constantly picked apart the way they looked. Whatever the case, I’ve come to realize something... We are truly ONLY as beautiful as we think we are. There’s nothing more attractive than a person who is THANKFUL for their body & confident in who they are, no matter what their body looks like or even how their body functions. Remember, NOBODY is perfect. We ALL have imperfections & insecurities. & NOBODY looks as good in real life as they do with good lighting, a great angle & an Instagram filter. #letsbehonest The BEST blessing comes when you can accept & even LOVE the parts of yourself that you used to want to change. Because it frees you up to think about the things that really matter. I think Jesus said it best... “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are — no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.” (Matthew 5:5, MSG) YOU. ARE. BEAUTIFUL. Just as you are. No matter what you choose to add or subtract. 💕 #MadeforBrave
