By Kelsey Klepper
Dear body,
You have failed and will continue to fail as I age. You will never live up to society’s standards. Your skin will become looser and saggier and not just on that belly you carry around. Wrinkles will form. You will continue to physically morph and change. Your skin will gain spots. You will have seasons of physical and mental weakness. Your knee will eventually break down again, and another surgery will commence. You will become sick. You will grow weary. You will ache.
Body, you will never measure up to perfection. There was a fall and sin entered the world. Pain and imperfection are here. You and all the other bodies will fail, and hearts will stop beating. Even though you are constantly reminded by the world that you’re not enough remember this…
You were created perfectly by the one who knows and loves you completely.
You continue to rise when you are tired and weary.
You have more summer memories of Lake Bliss than you will ever have sunspots.
Your wrinkles are from days and weeks of laughter over the years.
You grew and birthed two humans.
You carry the heavy things (groceries and children always).
You climb mountains.
You provide comfort to your friends, kids, and spouse.
You have seasons and moments of strength and resilience.
Body, thank you for carrying me through this precious life on earth. You will be ever changing, never constant, never perfect. And that’s more than okay. You serve a purpose, but you aren’t the purpose of this life.
The only thing that will remain constant in this life is Jesus and His love. He is the purpose. You were never and will never be more important than him. You were bought with a price. Jesus suffered, died and rose again so that you can have access to him now, in the suffering and in the failures.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
So body, I know it seems so difficult to be constantly reminded by society that you’re never enough, but remember, you’re enough to him, and that will always remain true.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16).
For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands (2 Corinthians 5:1).
