It’s spring...the time when the pressure of the shorts, tank tops, and bathing suits get’s a little more intense. I have had ups and downs with health and fitness over the years. I’ve had my fair share of healthy and unhealthy habits, positive and negative self-esteem and image, and all-out control battles with my health. But this year I'm taking control of these pressures so….
Dear Desired Beach Body,
Some years you got the best of me. I work out more than I should, I eat less than I should, I use every excuse possible to go for a walk in hopes to just burn a few more calories, and I rarely ever feel like I have attained you. But this year will be different. See, I have finally seen you for what you really are. You are just a way to keep me striving. You steal my focus, my thoughts, and my time. To strive is a way to obtain something through struggle and let me tell you, you are not worth the struggle. You are, in plainest terms, empty satisfaction. You are not who you say you are. You are not a 1200 calorie diet, no carbs, and extra exercise. You are not zero ounces of fat on my body. You are not a picture of a model in a magazine.
You are what I desire and what I decide that you are.
And like I said, you are not worth a struggle. I have bigger, more important things to worry about. I have a family that needs my love, I have a heart that needs growing, and I have a whole world around me that needs reached. You are not what is used to win the approval of those around me, you are for mine and my husband’s satisfaction alone. I will not change the world by letting you control me and I am called to be a world changer. I have no doubt I'll still look beautiful on the beach this year but as we approach summer 2016 there are a few things I want you to understand as my “beach bod”.
- I don’t exercise for you.
Exercise is for my health and you no longer have control over it. I have beaten hereditary hypertension and migraine headaches with the discipline of exercise. It gives me energy and extra endorphins to be the best me for my family and day to day life. It supplies a way for me to set goals and beat them. And I like that. I will not tolerate any extra pressure you try to put on me the closer vacation approaches. If I need to take some time off of exercise, I will. If I want to go for a walk instead of a run, I will. Will exercising help me look better in a bathing suit? Yes. But looking good due to the efforts of exercise will be a reward for treating my body as a temple for the Lord not because you told me I had to look good in a bathing suit to impress others or be beautiful. More than I challenge my muscles, I will challenge my spirit.
- I don’t eat for you.
I will eat healthy but I will not eat less than I should for you! You will not control what goes in my body. I will. I will eat what I want and I will eat to fuel my health and well-being. I love a good salad but if I happen to want a sandwich I will have it without guilt. I am closing the door, locking it, and throwing out the key to where you previously had access to shame me if I chose to eat certain foods. And when I turn down a cupcake it won’t be because you are saying I can’t have it. It will be because my desire to put good ingredients in my body is real and it’s important to me to practice self-discipline, making as many good choices as I can.
- I don’t need you.
If I have made it to summer vacation and I have a peace, joy, and love in my heart then I have what I need. You are a desire but not a need. And the only reason you are a desire is because is fun to give my husband the gift of a hot wife. So any pressure that makes me feel like I am not whole without you is a lie and this year I won’t believe your lies.
So now that we’ve gotten some things straight about me...here is what you need to know about you...
- You are a reflection of my health & discipline.
More than I need to resemble a model in a magazine I need to be healthy. I will make good choices with my health and I will make choices for long term satisfaction and not temporary satisfaction. So if summer comes and you happen to resemble a worldly view of a “beach bod” it will be because you were a reflection of my HEALTHY habits!
- You’re not the best part of me.
If you do happen to get attention this summer, don’t flatter yourself. It is easy for people to comment on what they can see but the truth is, my heart is the most beautiful part of me. I am fearfully and wonderfully made by the Creator of the universe and He has woven His DNA in my heart & spirit, not my body.
- You don’t define me.
My measure of success is not you. In Galatians the word of God tells me that I was brought out of slavery and adopted as an heir to Christ. And to subject myself to you, deprive myself, over work myself, neglect the people around me, to achieve what the world says you are, I would be subjecting myself into slavery when I have been called free. I will not do that. I am seen blameless and as a beautiful masterpiece in my Father’s eye’s and His thoughts are what define me. He is the unit of my measurement.
So just know….when I walk confidently in my bathing suit, hand in hand with my husband, from pier to pier or chase my toddler down the shoreline it won’t be at mine or my family’s expense. I will be full of love as I’ve continued to focus on what truly matters, full of energy as I’ve made the right decisions to take care of my body, and full of food as I have fueled my body with all it needs. And yes, chances are...I’ll look appealing to the world’s eye, but you’re deception, shame, and unGodly pressures will get absolutely no credit for it. And if you end up not looking like what the world would call a successful beach bod, I’ll still be out there, shameless, confident, and beautiful!
See you in June!
Love,
Kira Cardwell
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