By Rhonda Stinson
On the cover of almost every magazine is the image of a “perfectly shaped” individual. Usually there’s a topic on the cover about a fabulous diet which, if implemented, will result in the body on the magazine cover (NOT!) These images have been chiseled to eye-appealing form with the help of photo editing. It’s not even simple editing; it’s a total recreation. Anyone can go from a size 20 to a size 2 with the help of this kind of application.
God doesn’t want us to fashion ourselves after the world. He wants us to learn more of Him that we might be fashioned into the image of Christ. I wanted to be thin because I thought it would help me to be more likable. I also thought I would be more accepting of myself. I went from a size 12 in women’s clothes to children’s sizes. Yes, I was secretly shopping in the children’s department. It was so embarrassing that I already had a lie made up as to what I’d say if a salesperson came to help me. “I’m just looking for clothing for my friend’s little girl.” The weight loss didn’t make others more accepting of me, nor did it make me like myself any better. I was thin, frail, isolated, depressed, and stuck. If anything, I was more depressed and unhappy than ever.
When I began thinking deeply about the fact that my body is God’s temple and that the Holy Spirit dwells in me, it gave me a sick feeling to think about the way I was abusing His possession. God has endowed us with these bodies because they are the vehicles through which He accomplishes His work through us. Therefore, we must make sure we are getting proper nutrition and exercise physically and spiritually.
A drastic change began occurring in my thought patterns and actions as I began studying the Word and praying every day throughout the day. As I look back, I can see the fingerprints of God on my journey toward recovery. I love the person He has created me to be. I say this out of pure humility. I am special because God created me. I am loved because He will never stop loving me. I am accepted because I am His child.
YOU ARE SPECIAL BECAUSE YOU WERE CREATED BY AND FOR YOUR PERFECT CREATOR! WHEN YOU LOOK UP ON A STARRY MOONLIT CANVAS OF THE VAST NIGHT SKY, JUST THINK, THE SAME GOD WHO CREATED SUCH AMAZING BEAUTY CREATED YOU. HE MAKES NO MISTAKES!
“Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
