“Too Big!”
It seems like quite possibly (without meaning to) our society discriminates against people who are at an ultra-healthy BMI. I laugh about this, because I would have never imagined that I would even be thinking this, or be curious about this.
You see, because of our grit and hard work, we have grown our business to a place such that Dwight and I we will be honored at our company's national convention. We are being asked to be recognized in front of thousands on stage. Our accomplishments and being asked on stage means I need a formal dress.
Here comes the problem of “too big”. I am 5’2” and weigh 110-115 pounds on any given day. I Am a size 0 in women's and a size 1 in juniors. These sizes are, at best, HARD TO FIND.
Most every dress I tried on yesterday was too big. Too big. Too big. And that happened over and over and over and over. It became comical and it was a little annoying, but my goodness, what a great problem to have! I remember after I had started losing weight, people would tell me that I was too skinny. At first it bothered me (because I was a people pleaser); and then it offended me (because I cared too much what others thought and wanted support and love, not to be put down); and then it made me smile with a gracious reply of, “thank you” as I soon came to realize I am no longer the norm. I started to just say, “thank you so much.” Moving to a healthy place creates all sorts of unexpected thinking, dialog, and learning.
As I progressed in my journey to an ultra-healthy BMI and began releasing fear of being sick or unhealthy, I began finding more validation. Gal 1:10 says “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.” and 1 Cor 6:19-20 says “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
Did you know that 73% of our American population is overweight and 35% obese? no wonder my size is “discriminated” against!?! There is, sadly, not a high demand for my size.
So with my new-found weight and new-found joy that I’ve created in the last five years, despite it being hard to find a dress, it represented so much of what I’ve learned and let go of.
I’m proud of where I am and how far I’ve come.
You know, I used to hate trying on dresses and I still don’t like shopping, but it wasn't like I was feeling dread putting on the dress. I was not longer in a dressing room not feeling confident or disappointed in the way things look. My body is strong and healthy and time and time again yesterday I’d laugh that yet another dress was too big!
We have so many silly little problems. And yesterday, they made me smile!
And this accomplishment with my weight has really opened the doors to so much more that I'm thankful for! I have learned about health and stress management, proper sleep, proper hydration, how to eat and keep inflammation away. It's been amazing what all has happened. And so every time I tried on a dress yesterday that was too big, I really had to chuckle because they used to be sizes I hated or I didn't like the way I looked in them. And now they were just too big…and really that problem represented so much success and it was so fun.
Earlier this week, our family had some disappointment, and it really helped me to step back and be curious about how I could have gratitude for the situation.
Isn't that always the case? When something's not quite the way we want it, we get to choose how we react. We get to create the experience. We can become curious about how it is happening for us. There’s always many ways to see our “problems.”
Isn't it fun to see the good in the situation?
It's so fun.
I hope that this silly problem that I'm posting about helps you to consider that maybe all problems are or can become an opportunity for gratitude.
I did end up finding two beautiful dresses and I’m excited.
