31 Days: Embracing My Body

Here I am sitting in a crowded plane, heading home from a fabulous vacation... and all I can think about is how uncomfortable I am.
My knees are jammed up against the seat in front of me, the arm rests are digging in to my ample hips, and the seat belt seems insanely small as I struggle to strap it across my belly. This bites.
But what bites even more is how critical I am of myself because of these things.
You see, I've put on weight in the past 6 months & feel very ill-at-ease in my own skin. I look at myself in the mirror and don't really like what I see. Changes need to be made, but not in the way that I instinctively think.
I don't need to go on a diet. I don't need to join Cross Fit. I don't need to do a cleanse.
What I need is to alter my vision... I need to begin to see myself as God sees me. I need to accept myself here and now.
No more wishing it away. No more making plans that start with "when I lose 20, 40, 60 lbs."
Nope.
I've done that already & clearly nothing has changed.
So I'm done.
Embracing my body means that I look in the mirror and love me. All of me.
Embracing my body means being at peace with where I'm at and having a healthy relationship with my body, no matter what my weight.
Embracing my body means that I stop eating when I'm full, that I make healthy choices, that I listen to my body & give it what it needs.
Embracing my body means that I don't berate myself if I eat too many french fries or drink too much wine.
Embracing my body means that I see all the beauty that God sees and nothing else. His lens is the one I need to be looking through, not my own.
Now, here I sit meditating on the beauty, the strength, and the health that resides in me. I am whole, I am loved, and I am beautiful and I embrace all of it wi