Self Image: Taking Inventory

I remember when I was in Grade 7 gym class, another girl said in the change room that I had chicken legs and for then until about 20 years old, I didn’t wear shorts in the summer. Then it began to dawn on me that actually my legs were fine, actually more than fine, and one of my best assets! So I began shaking that old lie and wearing shorts and dresses with pride.

It’s funny how the comments of one jealous or thoughtless person can stick with us for so long.

What are the stories in your life, of things that were said that shaped your own body image?

On this episode of See Hear Love, our regular guest Dr. Merry Lin invited us all to take an inventory of the ways in which our self image was formed from our earliest memories until more recently. This helps us identify why we feel certain ways about ourselves or struggle with certain parts of our bodies and appearance, so that we can begin to change the story we are telling ourselves.

So, what do you remember your parents saying about your appearance? What about other family members? Kids on the playground? What experiences of hurt, pain, words, or abuse helped shape you- particularly in that key developmental time before about age 12.

Pray for God to bring things to mind, and then write it all down, without filtering. After you’ve made your unfiltered list- consider what scriptures and promises you could write beside each memory that remind you of the TRUTH of who God says you are and how you are his masterpiece. If you’re not sure where to start, just Google “Bible list of who God says I am”, or something similar to get some ideas.

If you’d like a song to listen to as you process this, “Who You Say I Am” by Hillsong Worship is an amazing declaration of how God sees us, who he has made us to be, and how we are the most beautiful masterpieces made in his image for his good works prepared for us in advance of our first breath, and set out until we get our new bodies in the New Creation that God promises is to come.