Swimsuit Season

Last night I went to Wal-Mart with my parents. I tried on some swimsuits for my job this summer. I wasn't looking for stylish, just practical. 

Bad idea. 

Who thought it was a good idea to put women into tight spandex suits that show every detail of your body? 

As I was standing there in the dressing room I was overwhelmed with Satan's lies. Looking into my own eyes I sincerely wondered what I was worth. 

Truth has a way of healing hearts. 

I am a daughter of God who loves me and I love him. I will stand as a witness of God at all times, in all things, and all places. As I strive to live the true values I have been taught like faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice and accountability, good works, integrity, and virtue. I believe as I come to accept and act upon these values I will be prepared to strengthen home and family, make and keep sacred covenants, receive the ordinances of the temple and enjoy the blessings of exaltation. 

This theme ran through my head as I was running this morning. I felt the sure reminder that my Heavenly Father and my Savior are there, right beside me, and always will be. They will teach me and guide me on my journey back to them. 

The end of last year I was really struggling with a lot of decisions I had to make and one day I checked my mail to find a small package from my sister. In it was a paper that expressed love and a picture that my niece had colored and a book that my sister read when she was in my same stage. I finally finished this week. This book is specifically for women and in one of the chapters it addresses the issue of perfection. The authors explain how our bodies usually become a victim of our quest for perfection. Here is an excerpt from that section.

"God made no mistakes when he designed women's bodies. In fact, our bodies are designed after a divine model...God did not design our legs to be model-slender, but to be strong. He gave us hips that are proportioned perfectly for child-bearing. He gave us a layer of fat beneath our skin that makes our bodies unfashionable soft, but makes us physically hardy and enables us to softly cradle a child. Understanding the purpose of our bodies, we can gratefully accept them as the valuable gifts they are."  

Beauty is so much more than the shape of our bodies. I just feel the truth in that. Health in the holistic sense makes a person beautiful. That health includes knowing who you are and where you get your divine qualities. 

I am a daughter of God who loves me and I love him.