I recently read an article about how Hollywood actresses and models starve themselves to stay thin. I think this is no surprise to most of us, I mean they all look like bobble-head dolls, but to read, in stark black and white, what they said, was really sad and eye-opening. One women said she ate water and and one English muffin a day. One. English. Muffin. Seriously. One other actress said she was just resigned to the fact that as long as she was an actress, she was always going to be hungry. She was being paid to starve herself. Ugh. And these are the women on the cover of every single magazine that bombards us when we stand in line at the grocery store buying our ice cream and bread and low-fat cheese, as if that’s going to help, telling us that they are the image of perfect womanhood. This what the perfect body looks like!
It’s a good thing I’m not an actress or a model. Duh. I mean, number one, I’m short and have a crooked leg, but number two, I love all things created with flour and sugar. I’d never survive. My friend, Laura, brought Swiss Rolls on our recent girls week-end. Oh yum. I ate two packages. Just wolfed ‘em down in like three bites each. And my friend, Wendy, introduced us to a new bonfire delicacy. Roasted caramels squished in between brown sugar cinnamon Ritz. Bliss. I won’t even tell you how many of those I ate!
Seriously though, there’s got to be a happy medium somewhere between starvation and gluttony, right? I believe so. And I believe it has to do with image. Yeah, that’s right, image. Not, oh-look-at-me-I’m-so-gorgeous image, but whose-image-am-I-created-in image. Ah-ha, lightbulb moment!
At the very beginning of creation God said this:
“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Genesis 1:27
You were created in the image of God. You were given meaning and purpose for your life. You and I are special. Here’s another one that is awesome to me as a woman:
“Listen, O daughter, give attention and incline your ear;
Forget your people and your father’s house;
Then the King will desire your beauty;
Because He is your Lord, bow down to Him.
And the daughter of Tyre will come with a gift;
The rich among the people will entreat your favor.
The King’s daughter is all glorious within;
Her clothing is interwoven with gold.
She will be led to the King in embroidered work;
The virgins, her companions who follow her,
Will be brought to Thee.
They will be led forth with gladness and rejoicing;
They will enter into the King’s palace.
In place of your fathers will be your sons;
You shall make them princes in all the earth.
I will cause Thy name to be remembered in all generations;
Therefore the peoples will give Thee thanks forever and ever.”
Psalm 45:10-17
The God who created the universe, thinks I’m beautiful just the way I am. I need to be content with who He made me to be. So, here’s what I think about this whole eating/body image thing. I think God gave us all kinds of food to enjoy and we should do that. My key is “Moderation in all things.” Obviously starving yourself is wrong and so is overindulging. Whatever I happen to be feeling like eating, I eat. I eat when I’m hungry and I stop when I’m full. If I’m hungry for M’n’M’s I eat M’n’M’s, but not too many. If I’m hungry for green beans, I eat green beans. God also gave us our bodies to take care of, so I exercise, again in moderation. I don’t spend 2 hours a day at the gym. People are more important. But, I run every other day and am pretty active running after my kids the rest of the time. This recipe has kept me the same size for the past 11 years. I’m not as tiny as my friend, Sarah, and I’m not as tall and statuesque as my friends Judy and Nita, although I had you fooled with those high heels didn’t I? :) I’m learning to be content with just plain ‘ol Molly-in-the-Middle.
I am created in the image of God who made me perfectly perfect. I’m not like anyone else in the whole world, and that’s kinda cool when you stop and think about it. I mean really, could the world stand two Molly’s????
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