Mirror, mirror on the wall....I am the fairest of them all?

Mirror, mirror on the wall, I want to be slender, I want to be tall...you define who I will be today, you define my looks my shape...."Mirror, mirror on the wall, I am the fairest of them all?"

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them." Self-image, we all struggle with it, we all want to portray a certain image, we all want to look a certain way, be a certain way, we all want to be accepted. And what truly is acceptance? Do we define it by the world's standards or by the Word's standards? And what is truly self-image? It is a word made of two parts-"self" and "image"....but scripture says I was created in HIS image. So, how can can my own image, my self-image be that which it is when clearly scripture is saying I was created in HIS image to portray HIM? There is a battle waging in my mind, in my life, and it is waging even harder in the world and the lives of those around me. The battle between the flesh and the Spirit, the battle between me becoming like the world and me becoming like the WORD, the battle between man's approval and the Lord's approval, the battle between diet, exercise, looking a certain way, talking a certain way, acting a certain way, being a certain way, and being who the Lord has created us to be, the battle between my self-image (or lack their of) and the image of Him being portrayed in me. Image encompasses so many different aspects, but while we ALL struggle, our outward appearance is what is seen, what unfortunately is the defining aspect of so many other parts of our image....

It starts at a young age, we see images and we want to look like them. The world around us begins to determine what we deem as beautiful and what we deem as undesirable. As we were sitting watching my niece's first ever Disney princesses movie, my sister and I talked about the images the world portrays. Am I hurting my daughter letting her watch Disney princesses' movies? Am I sheltering her too much by not letting her watch them? What image do I want to portray to my daughter in how I walk, talk, dress? Every parent has to debate these issues, and as we continue to go through life, every adult has to debate these issues. Am I hurting myself by reading this magazine, am I comparing myself to others? Is what I am listening to or watching creating an image in my head I can not obtain? We are inundated with images of what we should be, of what we need to look like, which has led men to desire the unachievable and unrealistic body type and looks in women and women to desire to be and look like that which is unrealistic for them, their body types, and truly for any woman in general. "But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

How many times are we too afraid to look in the mirror because we are afraid of the image we may see? We barely crack open the door, we sneak a glimpse, and our minds are flooded with thoughts. We are forced to diet plans, exercise plans, better beauticians, better makeup, better clothes. We seek out man (literally and figuratively) and man's approval in our appearance. We workout with men or spend time with men because deep down we know they will compliment us, they make us feel good about ourselves. We make comments because we know people will comment back. We want longer legs, shorter legs, skinnier legs, bigger legs, skinnier waists, bigger waists, curly hair, straight hair, smaller noses, bigger noses, no freckles, some freckles, tanner skin, lighter skin, bigger feet, smaller feet, is the list ridiculous yet? 
Before I continue, I truly feel that we are to take care of our bodies. The Lord has only given us this one body, this is the one thing we can truly say is our own, and I believe Scripture definitely points us to take care of our bodies. We are not to be gluttonous, lazy, sluggards. I believe we are to eat healthy, exercise routinely, and dress appropriately. Why? Because everything we do and everything we say is to bring glory to HIS name! We bring Him glory when we take care of our bodies. When our diet, our exercise, our lives match up to what His word is saying. Why do you feel better when you eat healthy, when you exercise, when you get enough sleep, when you are dressed nicely? Because that is how your body, your innermost being was created, in the image of the Lord, to bring Him glory. The problem comes when we use the world to define what true beauty is, when we use the world to define who we are. The problem comes when we let the "demons" in our head tell us we are that which we aren't. The problem comes when we let our diet, our exercise, our dress define who we are and not the image of the Lord portrayed through us. There in lies the ultimate issue...who is defining us? "But now thus says the LORD,  he who created you,he who formed you O Israel, Fear not for I have redeemed you, I have called you by name, you are mine."

We are HIS, He formed us, He created us. No longer should we be defined by what a magazine says..."And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good."

Everything He made, He looked at and said it was GOOD! No longer should we defined by our diet, by what we eat... 

Or what we are afraid to eat....We eat to bring Him glory!! "Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified."

I will run the race, I will take care of my body, I will exercise daily not because the world tells me to look a certain way, but because the Lord desires me to be healthy, so that in everything I do, whether it is a competition or whether it is exercising as fellowship, it brings HIM glory!

We are called to be disciplined, to be self-controlled, to not run aimlessly, but to do so with a purpose. I will be disciplined in my diet, disciplined in my exercise, disciplined and have self control in everything I do, but my heart will be changed. The fruit of the Spirt includes self-control but no longer will I be constrained by what I am or am not doing based on what the world is telling me...but I will exercise because it brings glory to HIM!

"For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them. How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If I would count them, they are more than the sand. I awake, and I am still with you."

I was on Pinterest last night and a friend had posted this video. Amazing how the Lord times things...what a poignant and powerful song...this journey is my own, this body is my own, but it was created in the IMAGE of the Lord Almighty. Every detail, every freckle, every part of who I am, was created by HIS hands, and I will not be defined by the world, but I want to be transformed and defined by HIS WORD...So...

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...I am changing my song, I am chaining my tune, no longer will I see the image of me, instead I will see the image of HE....."Mirror I am seeing a new reflection, I'm looking into the eyes of He who made me, and to Him I have beauty beyond compare, I know He defines me."