For The One Struggling With Body Image

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. - Psalm 139:14

I like to purge my closet every six months and get rid of the things I haven't worn since the last purge. Some might say it's because I don't like a cluttered closet. Others might say it's a way to give myself a reason to buy new clothes to replace the old ones. Both would be correct, but I digress.

I vividly remember one of these routine closet clean outs from a few years back. At the end of the purging process, I ended up with a bunch of extra clothes hangers that used to hold clothes that were now in the donate pile. As I went to put the hangers back in my closet, I noticed the variety of different sizes on them, ranging from medium all the way to 2XL. 

I stood there for a minute looking at the different sizing labels, and I thought about how many times I’ve let those letters dictate the way I think about myself.

I’ve pretty much worn size-large clothing since I was in high school. The few times I managed to fit into a medium, I would do a happy dance in the dressing room. And on the flip side, I would leave a store feeling discouraged and frustrated if I had to size up to an XL to get something to fit right. 

But the fact is, no one ever sees those sizing labels but me. No one sees the tags on my jeans or the label on the sweatshirt I just got from Target. So why is it that I let one (or two) small letters sewn into the inside of my clothes define me? 

I’ve struggled with body-image insecurity for most of my life. I’ve put way too much stock into the numbers or letters on my clothing tags. But even though this is an ongoing struggle, I know deep down that who I am is not rooted in the labels on these hangers. They’re not significant. They don’t add or take away from my purpose in life. And they don’t change the fact that I am fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God. 

Your Heavenly Father did not make a single mistake when He created you. He made you to reflect His image, just like He made your sister, your best friend, your coworker, and that influencer you follow on Instagram to reflect His image too.

And if we serve such a big God, then why would we expect Him to create everyone exactly the same and therefore limit the beauty and the diversity of His image bearers? I truly believe we were intentionally created to look different. So what would it look like if we embraced those differences and glorified God with them, rather than beating ourselves up because of them? 

At the end of the day, yes, I’m the girl who can wear medium, large, and x-large size clothing all in the same outfit. But there’s a lot more to me than that. And friend, there’s a lot more to you than your labels, too. You are an image-bearer of the Almighty God, and that is something to find confidence in.