My Scars and Flaws

I recently became a mother (oh, you didn't know?). Oh my, how your body can change! And also your insecurities, perception, and acceptance of yourself. While spending time with lots of new mothers, we have all discovered that we are unsure of our "new" bodies and accepting the changes that are mostly permanent. But I took this a step further and realized that I have ALWAYS had insecurities about myself and how my body looked. Long before the baby came! So after a few months of thinking and mulling this over, I decided to get bold and share with all of you the flaws and scars of my body.

 Here I am. 

I noticed that when I started preparing for this, I didn't have one full body image of myself since I delivered Pipsqueak. Are you guilty of the same thing? So I had to go take one. It's very awkward to take a full body picture on purpose, in case you are wondering!

I did not do this to point out everything bad about myself and cry about it. I did this in an attempt to boost my confidence in who I am. I did this to boost YOUR confidence in who YOU are.

You see, these scars, flaws, and marks all make up the person who is Aubrey. My mother remembers when I dented my forehead as a baby. I remember breaking my collarbone on vacation and the process of healing. I often look at the scar from my rat bite and remember that little creature (yes, it was a pet). I admire my birth marks- I actually love them. I run my fingers over my stretch marks and I am amused by how soft they are and how different they feel. I count my freckles. I experiment with just how wide I can open my toes.

But the point is, THIS IS ME. All of it. I am not too much, I am not too little, I am "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14).

Some of these things I can change, and some of them I cannot. I will work to change the things that I can, and I will pray to accept the things that I cannot.

"So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them."- Genesis 1:27 

I no longer want to complain about my body or dwell on what has changed since I gave birth. I now have my own daughter, and she will learn how to treat herself  FROM MY EXAMPLE. If I am negative, self-bashing, and hateful towards myself, she will learn that she should treat herself the same way. I have to be so careful now with how I treat and talk about myself, especially in front of her. At 9 months old, she already watches intently while I get dressed, put on my makeup, and do my hair. 

I am her example of what a woman should be. 

One other thing that has helped me to accept myself more... my daughter has my mouth. Not my lips, but my shape. She has my birthmarks- both of them. She has my eyebrows. She has my tiny feet. And my favorite thing so far- she has my big toe gap! Perfect for flip flops, by the way.

"Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them!"-Psalm 127:3-4

So ladies, let's embrace our bodies- teenage, pre-baby, post-baby, menopausal, short, tall, fat, skinny, good skin, bad skin, small or big. Because God created us perfectly, and for a perfect purpose. How can we tell God that his creation is wrong or not good enough? And remember that no matter who you are, little eyes are always watching. Let's show them what a woman really is.