You’re a Woman

Happy Wednesday,

How is everyone doing this fine Wednesday evening? It sure was beautiful out today. There’s a faint breeze, the sun is shining, and I’ve seen at least ten boats go by in the last half hour, a couple of paddle boarders and a kayak or two. Families are enjoying the park a one young mom is down on the shore with a blanket spread and her little one, who looks like he’s just learning to walk are playing and he’s ever so tempted to dabble a toe or two in the water. Lake life, it sure is a privilege. I’m sitting out on the patio, enjoying the day and writing my blog. I pray lake life will always be mine. Not a day goes by that I’m not grateful for this amazing opportunity.

With gratitude in mind, I thought I’d share something I read a few times over. It’s about embracing ourselves, loving the fact that we are women and loving ourselves, just the way we are. We are so uniquely made that it’s really a shame when we compare ourselves to others. Every woman is beautiful in her own way. One thing is for sure, I need to practice what I preach. I don’t see myself as anything special and I know many of you feel the same way about yourselves. It seems like we are surrounded by what we believe the perfect woman is, and what we fail to do is, look in the mirror, because she is looking right back at you.

Here are ten facts every woman should know. “Everyone has rolls when they bend over. When someone tells you that you’re beautiful, believe them. They aren’t lying. Sometimes we all wake up with breath that could kill a goat. For every woman unhappy with her stretch marks is another woman who wishes she had them. You should definitely have more confidence, and if you saw yourself the way other see you, you absolutely would. Don’t look for a man to save you. Be able to save yourself. It’s okay to not love every part of your body, but you should. We all have that one friend who seems to have it all together. That woman with the seemingly perfect life. Wel, you might be that woman to someone else. You should be a priority, not an option, a last resort or a backup plan. You’re a woman. That alone make you pretty damn remarkable.”-Mar.

Simply put, we were created in God’s image. “So, God created mankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”-Genesis 1:27, NIV. Notice it doesn’t say man was created in his image, instead it says, “male and female he created them.”

I have to agree with some of you though, God most certainly had one heck of a sense of humor. I think when we were created, our creator wanted a variety of people. We have different color of skin. We have different shapes of eyes, noses, bodies, feet and the list goes on. I believe we have gotten so far away from acceptance, that when someone presents as different then us, we begin to judge, some more readily then others, but I’ve heard it said, we are generally our worst critics. We critisize ourselves worse then others.

I believe sometimes it’s hard to accept others for whatever reason and when you think about it, that’s sad. I don’t think we need to like everyone all the time, we don’t have to have everyone in our inner circle, shoot, we don’t have to agree with each other, but we do need to accept that everyone is entitled to their own way of life. I believe if we start accepting the differences in others, perhaps it won’t be so hard to see ourselves as amazing, uniquely made individuals. What would happen if we saw our flaws as badges of honor? Every one of us has a talent, some of us need to figure out what that talent is. We all have an incredible gift to bring to this world. What we may see as a flaw, others may see as a strength. I love how the quote above reminded us that we may see someone as being strong, however, maybe they don’t see themselves that way, instead, they see us strong.

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”-Audrey Hepburn. My take on this, look for the good in you. Speak kindly, not only of others, but of yourself. Know, you are never alone, and it’s okay to ask your girl buddy for a listening ear, it’s okay to ask her to remind you of how worthy you are. There is power in numbers and with those numbers, there is power in standing up for, not only others, but for yourself. You are amazing, mistakes, imperfections, flaws and all.

You my dear ladies, you are so much more than your mistakes. For as long as I can remember, I’ve defined myself by the mess ups I’ve done. I’ve carried the world on my shoulders and funny thing is, it was never mine to carry. “Cast all your worries on him, because he cares for you.”-1 Peter 5:7.

We are more than our mistakes. We are the laughter we bring to others, the ray of sunshine in the days of those who are broken. We are the acts of kindness, the goodness we show towards others, we are the work we’ve put into our lives. We are the beauty of all our imperfections, and we are ever evolving into better, more powerful versions of who we are meant to be. We need to part the clouds of darkness that sometimes consume us and find the sunshine of knowledge, knowing we are more than the mess ups we make, and we are so much better for not only making them, but learning from them.

It’s time to embrace the power of being a woman. It’s time to shed the perception of what we should be based upon others and cherish every mountain we’ve climbed. Our bodies are always changing, sometimes for the good and sometimes for the “what the heck happened,” and that’s okay, eat dessert first now and again, you never know when it’s your time to move onto another life. Let’s empower each other to be more accepting of ourselves. Embrace all of your amazing self. You are beautiful, simply because you are a woman.

Well guys, I’m off to dinner with my friend Shawna tonight, so I must say goodbye for now, however, don’t forget, until next time, Love Life++