naked

I sent this as (part) of an email to a friend last night, and since I can't stop thinking about it, I'm posting it.

Self-Image: Okay I'll start by phrases I'm gonna avoid, okay? So note that I will not say these for a shallow and ineffective way to make you feel better. "You're beautiful on the inside and out." "God loves you no matter what you look like." "Don't worry about image" or "Been there done that." Okay? So knock those out because as true as these could be, these phrases are so redundant and they are complete bullshit anymore.
Self-Image (Take 2): Prepare yourself because I never quote scripture, so here goes: (you'll be my guinea pig) Isaiah 58:7 (the last half of it) says, "When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh..." Now that stuck out to me because for Lent, I am giving up one article of clothing/food/etc every day because others need them more than me, and there are way too many things I'm holding on to that are unnecessary in my life. Now that second part of the verse...don't hide yourself from your own flesh. My new theory these days is kind of based on that show "How to Look Good Naked." I never watched it, but I love the concept. If you think about it, God sees our naked, exposed bodies. He does not give two shits what brands we wear or what color our hair is: he doesn't see my spare tire or stretch marks, and he doesn't see my sagging, former muscle mass.
In a nutshell, our society sucks. You know by now not to base your body off of magazines or cute little college girls you see skirting around with super thin long legs or the perfect little stomachs. Don't do that. I think it's great to acknowledge that other women have nice bodies--it's okay! You just have to know that you have a nice one, too. The problem is that we're subconsciously taught to hide ourselves THROUGH our body image obsession. We see our bodies, we see the flaws, the "NOW" compared to "THEN." But we don't REALLY see our bodies. We see what we want our bodies to be. So we hide the reality that our crooked tooth or pointy ears or large forehead is actually a really cool character mark.
I am also very obsessed with Greek/Roman art. They were OBSESSED with naked bodies because bodies were beautiful and exotic to them. They saw beyond the sex--bodies are beautiful, complicated things; they're mysterious even when they're exposed. And sometimes, I think we really have to see bodies in a perspective that God would see them: they are beautiful because they are his. He gave me my man-size hands and boy-body frame. He gave me my tiny elf-like ears and my freckles. And at this point, I'm really appreciating those because it separates me from the next made-over beauty queen...and honestly, those beautiful girls have just as many body image issues as we do.

I'm sorry this is HUGELY long. I really hope I've helped some without being cheesy. I hate cheesy Christian stuff, girl. It's not my style. ANYWAY, I can't wait to see you again--we should play guitar and ukulele together: how fun would that be?!
OH AND please feel free to call or text me any time, okay? For real. Sometimes I forget that I have a phone, so I may temporarily lose it and not answer, but I will FO SHO call you back. I love you! Here's a technological Mama-hug. :) Have a great weekend, deary.