We were in Costco, grabbing a cheap Sunday lunch while making our way as usual through the samples. Greg and Nolan were walking around while I stood in line waiting for a sample of ice cream with berries on top. The line took a while since everyone wanted this sweet treat. As I got closer, an elderly man in front of me turned around, looked at me, and told me to go in front of him. Our quick conversation felt awkward and insincere, but I stepped in front of him to grab our samples so we could get Nolan home for a nap. As I stood there, I heard him mumble beneath his breath, “It’ll fatten you up.”
Tears immediately stung my eyes. Did he not realize that I, and the man serving us, could hear that? I grabbed the sample and quickly walked over to Greg unable to speak. My mind kept replaying the words this stranger had just said. Little did he know that I have felt insecure with my postpartum body. Within the last year I had given birth, nursed a very hungry baby, and experienced so many unexpected changes with my outer appearance. Little did he know that I have a thyroid disorder that affects my weight and by God’s grace is being fixed. Little did he know that five years prior I was swimming through the depths of an eating disorder, wondering if I would ever walk on dry land again. He didn’t know any of these things when he made a quick judgment based on my outer appearance.
I share this story with you because we have all felt the sting of judgment. If you are a woman, you’ve had times you’ve looked in the mirror and not liked what you see. The scale never seems to be the number we want it to be, so we worry, fret, and walk in insecurity, trying to cope with our outer appearance. As I walked away from my awkward encounter, feeling a rush of emotions that I knew in the past, the Lord whispered this encouragement to me, live for the kind of weight that matters. A scale, a size, and a number will not satisfy our hungry hearts. The mirror of this world will not give us the confidence we need to walk in freedom and grace. Bodies will change, wrinkles will appear, and outer beauty will fade as the years progress. But one thing becomes more beautiful, and that is the weight of glory. When our hearts are set on Christ and His supreme worth over every temporal thing, including our outer appearance, His glory becomes our freedom and joy.
I want my life to have weight in this world. I want the encounters I have, the words I say, and the way I walk to be a testimony of the cross. My body is bound to experience more changes in the coming years. Weight will come and go, and the mirror on the wall will continue to whisper lies and insecurity into my ears, but the freedom I have in Christ has already broken every chain that once shackled my heart. The weight of glory is this—Jesus has already set me free from my past, present, and future. My eyes aren’t on my size, because Jesus is the Prize.
Satan tried to discourage me on Sunday, but Christ won. As women of God, we can’t stand for the lies of the enemy. We have to be on guard against his ways and arm ourselves with the truth. If we truly want to have the kind of weight that matters in this world, we need to step off the scale and start obsessing our hearts with Christ. As Paul reminds us 1 Corinthians 4:16-18, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
It is the weight of His glory that will last forever. Our bodies, our afflictions our circumstances are just temporary reminders that we weren’t made for this world, we were made for glory in Christ.
It’s time we took our eyes off the numbers, scales, and sizes and consumed our lives with the weight of glory in Jesus Christ. You are already free, sisters. Nothing holds you in chains anymore because Jesus holds the key that sets you free. Let’s live for the kind of weight that matters—sharing the glory of Christ with a world that desperately needs to know there is freedom, today.
walking in freedom (ice cream in hand),
Gretchen
(above photo by Katherine McBroom)
God led me to your IG feed a while back and I’ve grown to love you and your family and business more and more. This right here though… you got me. This hits home and so closely. I, too, have recently had babies and struggle with my post partum blessing of a body. Thank you for opening up!
This was a beautiful reminder. First of all let me say just how beautiful you are. Just the idea of us carrying our children for 9 months and then feeding them for however long should empower us so much.
I struggled and still do with comparing my self to others. Thanks to our wonderful Father. He reminds me that He is my creator and He makes no mistakes
Great post.
Nadie Komarova
Hope Arising – http://hope-arising.blogspot.com/
Oh my gosh, I LOVE THIS. We really have no idea the battles that people face, especially when it comes to physical appearance and body-image. (And, this swings both ways, for guys and girls!) Thank you for these words!
Thank you for faithfully preaching the truth about who we are in Christ! It is much needed. 🙂
wow. This is beautiful and a great reminder of how temporary our outer appearances are. Thank you for sharing! 🙂
Yes. Yes. And YES! You are beautiful, courageous, strong and perfectly created. Thank you for being YOU and for sharing your heart so beautifully. YOU ARE LOVED, Gretchen! <3
Thank you, thank you for this post. I finally got around to reading some of my saved emails & it’s strange how Christ can place things just at the right time. I’ve been on this weight loss journey for almost three years & it’s been a roller coaster of injuries & set backs. I’m putting so much pressure on this body that has already experienced so much (10 surgeries). I’ve been at the same weight for a year & being so hard on myself. This post really woke me up & made me realize my focus should me on Christ so much more than it is now. Using all that energy & upset on something that is not permanent like Christ’s love for us. I need to spend more time with the Lord & not stressing my thoughts over body image.
I am praying for you sweet Mel! That you would have eyes to see who you are in Christ when you look at the mirror! He loves you. He is restoring your heart daily. The measuring scale can lie to us. Know that you know that you know that you are enough in Him because Jesus is enough!