To us all who were "the fat kids"...you are beautiful

I'm not sure how it happened. I was "fat".  I hated the thought. Maybe some kid told me so.  My mind buried the thought so deep the origin got lost.



 The start doesn't as much as the fallout.

The first time this false reality hit me I was in fourth grade. I was getting ready to go to the pool with our Indian Guide troop. I didn't want to go. I didn't want to be seen in public without a shirt. So I did what kids do who can't put words on their emotions.  I resisted going. Somebody outside of myself began to run my life; my relationship to myself, to others, and to my parents.

We ate junk in my house,  and I watched a lot of TV but I was still active. I guess my body didn't work like other peoples. No one asked me why I looked the way I did...they just told me.

Then one day in 7th grade (the horror years of Jr. High) I started to use one of the large ace bandages we had in the house to wrap up my stomach so that I wouldn't look so fat.

I wrapped up my emotions with many other things over the years.

If I could talk to that kid now.

But I can't, so I will talk to you and your children. Perhaps you have a weight issue...but the truth of the matter is...

....you are beautiful.  

You are not a freak of nature. You were crafted by the same hands that made the stars, the flowers, the mountains and the sea.

Your worth is not found in another persons' hurtful words. Your worth is of infinite value. Your name is known by God. It is inscribed on the palm of his hands. He collects your tears in a bottle.

You carry inside of you a portion of the image of God. 

What you look like is not who you are.

Now, this all may sound good but the names and the words have left holes and non-healing wounds. Haven't they? The Master Craftsman says that words are like swords, deadly arrows and poison. How then, can we begin to heal a non-healing wound?

First, understand you have been lied to....
Second, forgive and pray for those who have lied to you
Third, begin to love yourself and see your beauty. Your worth is found in God not in the assessment of others or even yourself.

Take a step to reclaim your life and health if you do have an honest health concern due to your weight.

And lastly, today, write these words on your mirror:
"I am beautiful. I am worth it.

Blessings to you all beloved, 

Bryan