a healthy heart & a beautiful figure

Our bodies are made in the image of our Lord. They are beautiful. To be cherished and taken care of... holy, righteous.
However, some of us struggle with weight, which is problematic to our health. It is not wrong to want to improve your health by working out, losing a little weight, having specific health goals, etc. as long as you keep the right perspective about beauty in mind.
BEAUTY isn't reflected by our image. The Bible says that beauty is reflected in our hearts. God only looks at our heart. And what is in our heart comes out of our mouth and controls our hands.

If we have an addiction to food, that is a heart problem. If we have an obsession with being skinny, that is a heart problem.
With this in mind, trying to become healthy starts in your heart. Health goals should include strengthening your heart and focusing on the truth of your beauty.
We are so obsessed with being skinny, and thinking that skinny = healthy, skinny = beautiful,
OR that skinny is open for public discussion.

Why! Why is it that when a woman is slim, people feel the desire and right to discuss her body openly?
I have literally been dealing with "too skinny" comments for weeks now. Why do we feel like we have the right to openly comment about how skinny someone looks? I'm sure I have ignorantly been at fault once or twice in this department. However, in the last ten years, I have been made aware of the consequences of these casual comments which ultimately reveal and strengthen a deeper, more troubling problem.

On a more personal note, I have been trying to GAIN weight for my health. That's right. And before you laugh, read on...I'm underweight. It has brought me to tears on more than one occasion...it's critical to my health and the health of my breastfeeding son, that I gain weight NOW. I have been eating extra meals, extra protein, working out some for strength, trying to rest as much as I can,  keeping hydrated, snacking on all the right foods, but all in all I have been struggling with my own insecurities of how I look and feel.
I have to focus on what God says about my body regularly.
Everytime I go to the closet, I have to keep in mind, the clothes may not fit or may not look flattering but God will provide for and take care of me. My husband loves me and the way I look (and feel ;)). And I just need to keep doing all I can. Don't give up. Keep trying!
It's easy to get discouraged when I'm trying so hard, and I check the scale and have lost two more pounds...meanwhile, this is the third week I have had "body" comments in a row from different women. I have grown to almost taste the bitterness of the word, "skinny". As soon as someone says it, I cringe a little.

Should we know everyone's issues? Well, no. But maybe we should be a little more understanding that every woman has her struggle of heart, mind, body and soul. Every person has to work at their health, no matter what they look like.

And really, as Christians, we should be more focused on the beauty of our hearts than our bodies. We should consider each others burdens and respect each others issues. And we should love ourselves and take care of ourselves because God created us in a special way and cares for us deeply.

I am beautiful. I am made in God's image. I am working at my health. I will respect others. And I will define how I think of beauty and what I think is attractive based on what the Lord. And I truly hope that those of you who have wrong ideas about health and beauty can take a minute and ask God what He says. Look to His Word.

He will transform your heart and give you beauty beyond what you can imagine.
He will transform your heart and help you make healthy decisions.