Getting Away from Ourselves - a different kind of getaway. What weight means to you?

I have been hemming and hawing about writing about this particular subject.  Most of my posts are about fun getaways whether it be with girlfriends, family, co-workers, church friends etc.  I have written lots about welcome bags, games, great locations, fun activities, drink stations and so much more.  This post takes a more personal tone - but I thought so many of the things I write about are to LIFT us.  LIFT us by being with other women or our family.  LIFT us by doing for others.  LIFT us by giving to others.  LIFT us by stepping outside ourselves and trying something completely outside our comfort zone.  Yet often we get weighted down by the very selves we are trying to LIFT.

Raising three girls (& one son) and being one of three girls myself, I am well aware how what we look like, what we weigh and how others see us plays a tremendous role in how we feel about ourselves.  Recently, my daughters and I had the "it's just a number" conversation.  Since that day I have felt drawn to share some of my thoughts on that number.

Let me start by saying - I am an up and down weight person.  Four kids, a couple of surgeries and general apathy will do that to you.

In our home we have a few rules to help take the weight off weight -

• NO SCALE - there is no scale in our home!!!  I never want my girls to be chained to a scale as so many women can be.  Our weight fluctuates.  It is meant to.  
• THE "F" WORD is BANNED in our House - not the "f" word you are thinking of.  F-A-T.  We try very hard not to even say that word.  It is a very negative word unless used in the P-H-A-T sense.
• ANOTHER BANNED WORD in our HOUSE is DIET! - we can say eating healthy, getting active or other terms of that sort but DIET is not allowed.  It indicates that you are not perfect and beautiful just the way you are.

In the long run I want what everyone wants for their daughters.  For them to be healthy and feel good about themselves.  My teenagers and I workout together at a gym which we all love!  It is fun for us to get fit together.  I had never had them step on the scale at said gym before this one day.  After a summer of all feeling pretty great about ourselves.  We were stronger than we were the summer before.  We were healthier than the summer before.  We didn't even dislike bathing suit shopping as much as we did the summer before. Towards the end of the summer one of the girls had a doctor's appointment, and was asked to step on the dreadful scale.  She left in tears because "the number" was higher than what she would have wanted.  Mind you I just said we were all feeling pretty good about ourselves and how our bodies looked and felt.  Until that number glared in her face.  I spoke with her about muscle weighing more than fat, etc. but not much of what I said was helping.  She was trapped in her own head with those negative thoughts (that SO quickly replaced the positive ones that had just been there moments before).  I reminded her that she herself said that she felt awesome about how she looked at the beach this summer.  I even told her that God only makes beautiful things.  It didn't matter what I said - she was going to let "that number" take her down.

That afternoon at the gym I asked if she wanted the opportunity to step on the their high tech scale thinking maybe "the number" was off?  So with our favorite instructor we quickly found out that the other scale was correct.  The discussion that took place in that little office I hope stays with my girls for a lifetime.  We did talk about muscle weighing more than fat.  We did talk about how two people could be the exact same weight but look completely different.  We did talk about reading our bodies and what they are telling us.  We spoke about how our clothes fit.  AND we spoke about not letting that CRAPPY "little number" take us down.  Why does that number mean so much to so many?  Why is it a number to begin with?  It could have been a letter, I guess?  Oh I am J today but I was M yesterday.  Would that make us love ourselves more?

When it all comes down to it don't we want for our girls and ourselves what God wants for us?  To LOVE ourselves as much as He does!  To live a HEALTHY LONG life!  Doing the things that make us happy!  Being healthy enough to partake in all the awesome activities that His beautiful world provides us? - Swimming in the massive oceans, climbing gorgeous mountains, walking through forests, bicycling beautiful paths, kayaking or canoeing marshes and streams, zipping through treetops, tubing or rafting down a river, sleigh riding or skiing snowy hills, jumping into cool lakes, running through flower fields, hike unexplored trails and dancing the night away  - you get the point.  He has given us an AMAZING world in which to play and explore.

He only makes BEAUTIFUL and PERFECT things!  We are one of them NO MATTER what that "number" is!  If we try hard to remember that then maybe just maybe we can getaway from ourselves and our negative thoughts.  And LIFT ourselves each and everyday to be the perfect healthy beautiful women God made us to be.