Wednesday, January 12, 2011

gratitude day 3: my body



i'm grateful for my body. the too big parts, the too small parts, the adult acne and hypersensitivity too.

i can hear music. i can see beauty. i can taste cafe rio's chicken salad. i can run and not be weary, walk and not faint.

i remember a specific moment. i was in 7th grade, examining a picture of myself with intense dismay. look how skinny my calves are. look how big my thighs are. [i think i weighed 80 pounds.] look how flat my chest is. i spent the next decade obsessing about the imperfections of my body.

what happened? there was no angel, no trumpets sounding, no sudden realization of the truth. instead somewhere along the way i began to appreciate the things my body allows me to do. how miraculous it is.

i played a piano solo at a funeral with that body. i fought off an infection, typed a novel, kissed mr. coleman, cooked a meal, hugged a grieving friend with that body. i danced. i ran 13.1 miles.

i grew four babies in that body, shapeshifting each time, four perfect miracles. i nursed those babies for four years, altogether.

four years.

i am grateful for the miracle of my physical body, vessel for my spirit, the too big parts, the too small parts and all.

7 comments:

  1. Amen. And I think your body is awesome.

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  2. Our bodies are pretty neat. I mean, Leta and Annie love playing with the extra skin and flub on my stomach. It's like built in play-dough for them. How awesome it that?

    Really, I am thankful for my body and it's quirks. It's Heavenly Father's gift to me.

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  3. bodies are amazing. too bad you didn't know what other people thought of your perfect little body during that decade of your life... i guess people should've told you instead of me. :)

    i've been appreciating my body too these last two+ weeks. that i birthed a baby and can provide all the nourishment that baby needs. amazing!

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  4. How refreshing. It is always nice to hear people be comfortable in their own amazing skin.

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  5. i just cried reading this. you are beautiful, and so are your words.

    and hooray for amazing bodies! especially when they function properly... (i'm missing that right now, but i'll never take it for granted again).

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  6. Wow. What a great post. I'm not at a point where I can say I'm grateful for my body yet, but I'm working on it. And, by working on it, I don't mean that once I lose weight I'll be grateful for it. I mean that I'm working on being happy with how it is now. The losing weight thing is for health (and an easier ability to find clothes that fit). Thank you for your words!

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