In society today people are not happy when they look in the mirror. They are never thin enough, tall enough; body dimensions are not what they “think” they should be, to be accepted in today’s society. We are being told everyday by society in the media and advertising we need to style our hair a certain way to be sassy; we need to buy these clothes to be in style or to wear the latest in jewelry to be flashy and to be noticed. This is all a farce.

When you check out at the grocery store you see headlines on every magazine that calls out, “Lose 10 pounds in one week”, “How to look like a model “, “How to get and keep a man” and the list goes on and on. Every week the publishers put out more headlines in the magazines to make the average woman feel inadequate.

There has been an increase in plastic surgeries every year because woman and men are not happy with the bodies God has blessed them with. The numbers of plastic surgeries ever year are astounding. According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons there were 11.8 million plastic surgeries done in 2007, at the cost of 12.4 billion dollars, which is up 7% from 2006, and up 59% from 2000. The primary procedure was Breast Augmentation. These figures do not even cover the minimally –Invasive procedures of Botox and Chemical Peels.

All of the dissatisfaction woman feel when looking at the bodies God has blessed them with has caused the rise of woman with bulimia, anorexia, depression and contributes to the divorce rate in America. What are we teaching our youth? It breaks my heart to hear a beautiful young lady at the tender age of 7 say” I am fat I need to go on a diet” when she is not overweight but the thoughts that she is inadequate have already started to be ingrained in her mind. We need to stop this cycle.

Women report that their lack of confidence and shame because of their bodies is the primary reason they do not desire intimacy with their husband. Women do not want to have their husband’s see or touch them because they feel embarrassed or feel they will be ridiculed because they are not as thin as a model. We have so much more to be, we are to have a quiet and gentle spirit, to have beauty in our hearts that shines through in all situations, everyday of our lives. “Do not let your adornment be merely outward- arranging your hair,wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel- rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of the gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” 1 Peter 3: 3-4. (NKJ)

The average woman is 5’4” tall and weights 140 pounds, yet we try to compare ourselves to the models on magazines, TV, and the movies, who are average 5’7” tall and weigh 120. If we do not learn to be happy with the person we are, be happy with the bodies God has blessed us with we will fall into the same trap as many and feel inadequate, thinking we just do not measure up.

The good news is that we can measure up to exactly what God has made us to be. We can be happy with who we are, we can look in the mirror and say I am wonderfully made. I believe we have a responsibility to take care of our bodies for health sake and to honor our spouses, but when I am critical of my body I am dishonoring God’s creation and being critical of my husband’s choice in women. WOW, is that true, it took me a few minutes for that to sink in as I came to that realization. I am doing two of the things I least want to do in life, dishonoring God and being insensitive to my husband. I have decided with God as my strength I am going to overcome the stigma that I am not good enough, and start to love myself. PLEASE TAKE THIS JOURNEY WITH ME. My prayer for each person who reads this article is that you can learn to love yourself the way Christ loves us, unconditionally.