Body Temple Beginning

 Here begins a journey for myself and hopefully for many of you who are looking for answers to many questions regarding weight and healthy body image.  How many times have we looked at ourselves in the mirror and proclaimed ourselves...for lack of a better word....fat?  Many of us look in the mirror and experience a wide range of emotions...sadness, disappointment, regret, hopelessness.  Regardless of how many pounds we are carrying, we often feel things which do not reflect what God sees.  How many times have we heard people, mostly women, say to us, "Well, the Bible says, that the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit."  It is expressed with more than a hint of judgement as if the Holy Spirit is only pleased when he resides in a size six body.  And then not only do we feel bad about ourselves in general we make God out to be a fashion magazine editor looking for the perfect body to put on the cover of His magazine.   And then of course, there are all the books, magazines, web sites, self help tapes and advice on dieting.  If only you follow this one or that one you will be happy and find fulfillment and be the perfect size...finally.  Why is it then that most of the time the change is only temporary?  We may be changed for a while, a month, a year.  But eventually most of us end up in the same place we began. 
     So, what is to be done?  What does God really say about our bodies?  Does God love us more when we weigh less?  Why do we love ourselves less the bigger we are?  Does the Bible address how to live a healthy well rounded (no pun intended) life? 
     Through the years God has taught me a lot about myself and a lot about Him.  One thing I have learned is that when we truly look for answers from Him, when we ask Him for wisdom - He is eager to answer.  So this is a step of faith for me.  I have never done a study on body image or weight before.  I have not really asked the questions that I am going to be asking.  But I do know this.  When we seek truth from God, we should be prepared for answers because He will give them.  And I know that He is not afraid of anything that we dish out.  He is not afraid of our pain or bewilderment.  He welcomes our questions, He wants us to be real to be honest about our struggles.  My pastor's wife recently said, "I am going to begin asking God things believing that He will answer."  She is a wise woman.  I think we should follow her example.  We will ask God right now to lead us to the proper way to have the kind of body that is healthy and the kind of mind that is healthy too.  Where do we start?  I will let you know - I am asking Him for that and as He leads we will follow.  Will you join me?  It is a lot more fun with friends who join in the journey.  I expect we will learn a great deal about ourselves, about God and about how to live healthy lives.  We will delve into that in future posts.  Please don't be afraid to post your questions your doubts and fears.  We will walk together.  Know that you are not alone.
     I bumped into a friend today.  I hadn't seen her in several months.  She walked into the room and I was so happy to see her.  She walked up to me and I asked her how she was, we embraced and then she said, "I am fat."  Now I just have to say, I LOVE women.  I love that we can be apart for months but then see each other and speak out what is on our hearts.  When she walked into the room I didn't give her weight a second thought yet it was almost the first thing she said.  It made me think about how God feels about us.  He loves it when we come to Him, even if we have not talked to Him in a long time, and we blurt out, "I am fat". He loves to hear how we feel.  So here's to my friend.  She was an inspiration to me today.  I don't think there could be a more appropriate beginning to our Journey then telling someone, maybe God, maybe a good friend, maybe even the McDonalds drivethrough person.  Speak out that one sentence "I think I am_________". We are going to get to the truth about who we really are, and get rid of the lies that we believe that are not true.  Be honest about how you feel and and don't be afraid.