“You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.” Excerpt From: Williams, Margery. “The Velveteen Rabbit.”
A few weeks ago, I found myself standing in front of my bathroom mirror staring at my slowly aging body, all of the wrinkles, belly fat, sags and grey hair. My first thought was ‘How did I come to this?’ Then, Psalms 139:14 popped into my mind, “I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.” and my perspective changed completely. I do know it “right well”, I am made in the image of my creator and I am becoming more every day what he created me to be. Real, that’s what he had in mind when he made me.
He knew exactly what I was going to look like when I was born. He knew me when I was the awkward girl with thick glasses in my teens. He knew me when I was dying my hair because I didn’t like the color, when I was dressing like a hippie, when I was losing and gaining weight. He knows me now as my hair grows greyer and I struggle with the pains and aches of growing older. Not only does he know me, he created me this way. This body belongs to him, I am his beloved and I am his temple. That should change my perspective. One, I should be praising and thanking him that I have made it this far without falling completely. Two, I should be taking better care of this body as it is not really mine. It is on loan to me while I am here on this earth. While it is just a temporary dwelling, that doesn’t mean that I should treat it as if it is indestructible. It is God’s temple, he dwells within and I should be caring for it better than I care for the furnishings in my house.The next time I go to put a piece of junk food in my mouth, I am going to remind myself that my offerings should be pure, an unblemished offering. I am also not going to compare myself to others. I am going to be the real me that he created me to be.