Christ engraved us on the palm of His hands.
My children are etched into the scars in my stomach. ️
I love my stomach. I love my body. I love my scars. So dang much.
“Scars are simply proof that you’re stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.”
I remember very vividly looking at myself in the mirror right after I had my third kid, and this was my internal self-talk (all while looking in the mirror):
Me: “Girl, you just had your THIRD baby?? ELEVEN days ago?”
Also me: “Ya girl! Don’t I look AWESOME?!”
Still me: “YES! Girl, I’m so proud of your body!”
Me again: “Me TOO! Isn’t it beautiful, and amazing??!!”
I then winked at myself, and blew a kiss.
I had a belly pouch and weighed 29 pounds more than my pre-pregnancy weight when this conversation went down.
I still have cellulite.
I still have stretch marks.
I still have extra skin above my belly button.
And my oh my, how far my mindset, and my relationship with my body, have come since I gave birth to my first child almost 5 years ago. ️
️
Let us try this thought on for once, “I accept myself unconditionally right now.”
I FULLY believe that we can be happy with where we are, while also striving to make daily choices that lead to overall health, inside and out. We can drink water. We can eat vegetables. We can eat fruits. We can choose lean white meats like chicken and fish. We can eat healthy fats like nut butters, clean oils, and ghee. We can eat whole grains and beans and legumes. We can find ways to sneak in and enjoy superfoods. Not because we hate ourselves, but because we LOVE ourselves.
We can have a healthy relationship with food AND our bodies.
We can have a healthy relationship with our minds AND our body image.
It takes work.
One day,
one nice thought in the mirror,
one wink at yourself,
at a time.
I am so grateful for this incredible growth journey I’ve been on for the last 6 years. And now I can genuinely say: I love me. Stretchy skin, weird belly button, stretch marks, cellulite, and all.
A woman’s body, and all it is capable of, is a beautiful and incredible and powerful thing.
Us mommas? We are warriors. ️
Let us love the person we see in the mirror today and every day.
Let’s give her grace.
She does so much for us.
She brought our children into the world.
And that’s amazing.
Be kind.
