What God says when your body isn’t what it used to be

My body isn’t what it used to be. It doesn’t look or behave like it did when I was 20 because — not shockingly — people change as they age. But when it’s your body, these changes are shocking and totally unwelcome.

When I see age spots and cellulite, when I hear my knees crunch, and when my energy seems to lag, it’s unacceptable because it’s me. The reality that I’m closer to menopause than college graduation is not one I want to face.

But maybe your body concerns aren’t quite as superficial (literally) as mine. Maybe your memory is less clear. Or your body hosts unhealthy cells raging against you. Maybe the pregnancy hormones make you nauseous.

What’s a try-hard girl to do when she has a hard time accepting her body as it is?

Friends, I’d be lying if I said I had this figured out…I totally don’t. But this is what God is revealing to me, and hopefully it’ll help both of us on this journey.

Try-hard girls live in one of two states of mind.

1. We live with a past or future mindset.

For the try-hard girl, it’s hard to live in the present. We either dwell on the past when we looked and felt amazing, or we focus on the future where we’ve (magically) dropped extra pounds and found the perfect medication/facial cream/plastic surgeon.

When we’re not present, we’re not honest with ourselves about how we feel about our bodies right now.

2. We live with a condemning mindset.

For the try-hard girl, it’s hard to shut up our inner critic, the voice that reminds us not to eat the second helping, berates us when we can’t walk as far as we used to, and shames us for being unable to remember where we put our keys.

Clearly, these two mindsets aren’t healthy, so what do we do?

The try-hard girl solution for our body concerns is Christ Himself.

Let’s live with God’s grace in the presence of Christ right now.

What if we accepted our body just as it is because to not accept it would be to reject every experience that made us who we are today? How would it feel to bring every pound and inch of us into the presence of Christ and ask Him what He thought of us?

What if we didn’t listen to our condemning inner critic so we could hear God’s gracious truth that He delights in us — no matter the extra pounds, stiff joints, and low energy?

I believe He’d say something like this:

“Dear Daughter of Mine,

I am infinite, eternal, and omnipresent, but you – My beloved – are not (Psalm 147:5, 139:7-10). You only exist in this present moment. So I ask you to not replay what’s happened in the past, a place you cannot change, and I ask you to not move ahead into the future, a place that I haven’t led you.

Please know that I care deeply about what’s going on with you right now (I Peter 5:7). I am the God of truth (John 17:17), and I want you to be honest with yourself (how much you hurt, how sad you are about the extra pounds, how angry you are about the diagnosis, how frustrated you are at your inability to do what you want) so that you can be honest with Me.

You don’t have to push away the sadness or disappointment you feel about your body and how it looks and works. Simply bring it to Me (Psalm 145:18).

Remember that My grace is free for the taking (Ephesians 2:8), and when you forget this, ask Me to remind you of what is true. My grace will remind you to tenderly caring for the body that seems to be failing you because I live in you (Ephesians 3:17). My grace reassures you that I’ll give you the energy to do what I know you need to do.

And sweet daughter of mine – the one I created and designed with that dimple, those cheek bones, the thighs that touch when you walk, those eyelashes that flutter – if you remember nothing else, remember this:

I’m just so crazy about you, body and all (Jeremiah 31:3). Will you look full in My wonderful face and listen to Me sing over you so loudly that it drowns out your inner critic (Zephaniah 3:17)? Do you see the grace and love I have for you in My eyes? I love you and that includes the skin you’re in.

I may not take away the extra inches, the arthritis, the fuzzy memory, or cells causing havoc, but there’s one thing that won’t ever be taken away: My presence. I will never leave you or forsake you. Not once. Not ever. 

I love you. You are My most amazing creation (Genesis 1:27). And you, yes, you are My absolute favorite (Romans 12:3-5).

Grace and peace,
Your Heavenly Father

Try-hard girls, there is hope.

Friends, I’m not saying that living in the present and in the presence of Christ is easy. I’m not telling you that it’s a breeze to tell our inner critic to take a hike. Many days, I fail to appreciate the body God gave to me because it doesn’t look or move like before.

But my attitude doesn’t negate the fact that God loves me — and you—in the very flesh we’re living in. No matter what shape your body is in or how it looked 20 years ago, let’s receive these truths. God is with you in the present moment. He cares deeply about what’s going on with you. His grace is free for the taking. And He’s crazy about you, no matter how crazy you are about how your body looks.