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Seeing Yourself Deeper

It may happen to you once a week, once a day, or even once every hour. You look at someone else, and you think about your flaws in comparison to their "perfection". You wish that your stomach was flatter. your thighs were thinner, or your double chin didn't exist.
For young women, the comparison trap is so easy to fall into, especially when it comes to weight and body image.
However, you don't have to fall into it. There's a way out.
Read Psalm 139. The entire psalm describes how well God knows you, but verses 13-16 talk specifically about the care God took in creating your body. Your body was knitted together by God. Knitting projects are painstaking projects that take a long time. You don't knit something for someone if they aren't worth your time. Appreciate the amount of effort God put into forming each detail of your body. He made you just the way you are for a reason, and He loves the way He made you. You are already perfect; you don't have to chase down some cultural idea of "perfection".
Also, remember that calories, weight, step count, pant size....all of these are just arbitrary numbers. Don't compare your numbers to a friend's numbers. You're unique, and your numbers should be too.
Also, no matter what goal number you set for yourself, you will never be satisfied, even if you successfully reach that number. You will only begin a spiral of chasing the next "better" number, and you will waste so much energy and time in a futile quest. So, rather than letting a number control your life, count your blessings, and rest in the love of Christ.

Psalm 139: 13-14 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. (ESV)
*It may be helpful to write these verses, or other verses from Psalm 139 on a card or sticky note and leave it on your mirror or by your bed. The more that you remind yourself that God made you beautiful just the way you are, the sooner you will begin to really believe that.

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