January: BODY IMAGE
Read It Micah 6:8
The Lord has shown you what is good.
He has told you what he requires of you.
You must act with justice.
You must love to show mercy.
And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.
He has told you what he requires of you.
You must act with justice.
You must love to show mercy.
And you must be humble as you live in the sight of your God.
Concept: It’s the new year! And that means we get treated to lots of messages about how to shed the “holiday weight” and get our bodies in shape.
While treating our bodies with love does include healthy habits, there’s a body ideal in our culture that is neither healthy nor realistic. So what’s our counter-narrative? How do we treat our bodies in a way that is consistent with Micah 6:8, with loving kindness and humility? Shifting our own narrative has a direct impact on our children’s narratives. We model self-love and care so that our children can be shored up with a narrative that runs counter to an ageist, body-shaming culture.
While treating our bodies with love does include healthy habits, there’s a body ideal in our culture that is neither healthy nor realistic. So what’s our counter-narrative? How do we treat our bodies in a way that is consistent with Micah 6:8, with loving kindness and humility? Shifting our own narrative has a direct impact on our children’s narratives. We model self-love and care so that our children can be shored up with a narrative that runs counter to an ageist, body-shaming culture.
Pray It
God, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you for our taste buds that help us enjoy food, for our bones and muscles that help us move, and for skin that can stretch and wrinkle as we grow and change. Amen.
God, we are fearfully and wonderfully made. Thank you for our taste buds that help us enjoy food, for our bones and muscles that help us move, and for skin that can stretch and wrinkle as we grow and change. Amen.
Do It
- Micah 6:8 on Display: Get ready for your year of living intentionally with Micah 6:8! Find a way to display this verse this year. Here are some ideas:
- Write it on poster board and decorate it as a family, then put it in a common space where you’ll see it daily.
- Find a printable version of the passage online, then put it in places you’ll see it - on the wall, hanging from the rearview mirror, on the bathroom mirror, in bedrooms…
- Let each member of the family make a version of the passage and choose where to put it in the house or vehicle.
- Stand in front of the mirror and really look at yourself. Notice things, like your eye color, freckles, shapes on your face and body, and hair texture. Find your wrinkles and imagine how you earned them. Maybe that brow furrow came at a time of health crisis or worry - remember how God was with you in that time. Maybe the crow’s feet come from smiling - thank God for a life of full-face smiling. Notice the ways your body has changed over the years, and remember the life phases and events that surrounded those changes. Say a prayer of thanks for your years of life and God’s work in your inner and outer being.
- Tell stories to the children in your life, with bodies as the prompts. For example, “I earned this scar on my tummy when you were born and the doctors needed to perform an emergency c-section…” Use the language of “earning” - these marks are badges of a life well lived and a resilient body!
- I remember my mom telling me the story of her smallpox vaccination scar. I was intrigued by the story, and it changed my relationship with getting shots and vaccinations.
- It will take time to reframe the way you talk to yourself and the way you see your body. Many of us have embedded shame about our bodies that is very difficult to uproot. Your outer, spoken narrative will probably change much more quickly than your inner one. But changing the way you speak about yourself will help the little ones you care for to not have those embedded narratives themselves. Showing grace to the softness around your middle will help your little one love their own softness.
Explore it: A Note from Tami
I find it interesting to read Micah 6:8 in a variety of versions that are all translated into our language from the original Hebrew. Yes, they are accurate and basically the same, but my understanding is greater when I reflect on the different words used. We will include a variety of translations/versions throughout the year. You can use http://BibleGateway.com to do some exploring of your own.
When you feel self-conscious and critical of your body, reflect on Psalm 139: 13-14.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
There are many wonderful resources on-line with valuable suggestions for promoting children’s healthy body images. Here are a few that I selected.
I find it interesting to read Micah 6:8 in a variety of versions that are all translated into our language from the original Hebrew. Yes, they are accurate and basically the same, but my understanding is greater when I reflect on the different words used. We will include a variety of translations/versions throughout the year. You can use http://BibleGateway.com to do some exploring of your own.
When you feel self-conscious and critical of your body, reflect on Psalm 139: 13-14.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
There are many wonderful resources on-line with valuable suggestions for promoting children’s healthy body images. Here are a few that I selected.
