This last pregnancy was probably the hardest on my body so far.  My morning sickness, reached a point of needing medication, I had bronchitis which led to an intercostal separation of the ribs from coughing so hard, and I just felt “old”.  Heading towards 40, I am not the same woman I was 15 years ago when I was pregnant with my first.

And even now, that my baby is almost 7 months old.  I am several times a day (and night!) giving of myself to nurse this little one.  I am poked and prodded, pulled on and continually being called upon to *give* of my very self.

The stretch marks, the flab, the excess weight…I am not the Barbie doll by any stretch of the imagination (no pun intended!)

And that is ok.

My husband calls these stretch marks badges of honor.

Rachel Jankovic hit the nail on the head once again in chapter 12 of Loving the Little Years…

“Scars and stretch marks and muffin tops are all part of your Kingdom work. One of the greatest testimonies Christian women can have in our world today is the testimony of joyfully giving your body to another…

Carry the excess weight joyfully, until you can lose it joyfully. Carry the scars joyfully as you carry the fruit of them. Do not resent the damages that the children left on your body. Just like a guitar mellows and sounds better with age and scratches, so your body can more fully praise God having been used for His purposes.  So don’t resent it, enjoy it.”

Thank you Rachel for reminding us that we do not want to go to our graves having preserved our bodies as museum pieces, but spent in His service, well used for His glory.

How do I view my body?  Is it a vessel to be used for God’s glory, or to be preserved for my own comfort?

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Loving the Little Years