For me, it started in seventh grade middle school. It started again my junior year of high school… and again my freshman year of college. From skipping breakfast, or giving my bowl of cereal to the dog as a girl, due to the comments of an irrelevant kid on the bus; to wearing jeans that were NOT mom-approved, but gave the boys something to complement me for; to working off 3500 calories, while consuming a fourth of that in my regular diet, due to the refusal of gaining the so-called “Freshman 15.”

Overcoming the body issues that consumed my thoughts and the image I saw in the mirror was never something I had felt was OK to share with the world, or even admit to myself.

Today, I write this with the awareness of knowing I am not alone in getting warped by the world’s message of how our bodies should be used, or viewed. I wake up to a world where my ten-year-old sister sees me working out and asks, “Am I fat?” Or sees me running and asks to join so she can “burn calories,” rather than for the satisfaction of being free. By age 6, girls start to express concerns about their own weight or shape, when their only problem should be remembering to brush their teeth before Mom drives them to school (Disorders, 2009).

Today, I write this with the fear that this generation is influenced to idolize themselves, or change so that they can be idolized by others.

Tonight, I write this to encourage you to stop looking in the mirror and pinpointing things to change from the outside, and start looking in.

Galatians 5:22-23 states,

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control.”

I refuse to let the world corrupt me. I refuse to let the world corrupt you. I look forward to consuming fruit that hasn’t been bruised, but is nourishing for the body and soul; embarking on a journey that will wake you up to the promise that your body is a temple, not a trash can.

Fearfully and wonderfully made to make a difference,

Del