I'm sitting on the ground, third from the left - note the huge glasses.
Today’s Faith in Action step for “Just Eating?” is to journal about an experience that shaped my body image for better or for worse.
Soooo….without further ado here are two separate but related body issues I had growing up – a for worse and then a for better.
Living in Louisiana, I was a sickly, super-skinny child. I have asthma and had round after round of bronchitis and pneumonia and many, many (sometimes weekly) trips to the ER. My body was my enemy and so was just about everything in my world because of severe respiratory allergies. I couldn’t even participate in PE most of the time.
I had the skinniest legs in the entire world – my mother actually told me I had “chicken legs.” This was the worst thing she could have said to my sensitive, shy self. I started refusing to wear shorts or skirts. I hid my legs at all costs for years.
Then we moved to Eastern Washington when I was twelve and most of my respiratory problems cleared up, the climate was a Godsend for me and my lungs. During eighth grade my best friends (twins) asked me to join them on the track team. Several of our mutual friends were joining so I joined just for solidarity’s sake. I did discus and shot put (both truly laughable as I was still only about 85 lbs. soaking wet), the long jump and triple jump, tried hurdles, and discovered I was REALLY good at the distance events. I rocked the 800 meters and mile.
This was monumental in my life. My life up until then had been very interior, I read a lot and was known for being “smart” (both good and bad connotations). To be able to stretch and push my body to move faster and faster was an amazing revelation. To watch as I got stronger and stronger and faster and faster was so exciting. And to be known as an athlete was just plain crazy to me.
But, I had to wear shorts.
Yeah, major issue for me. Shorts were part of the uniform and even though I could wear sweats in practice I HAD to wear shorts at meets. So, I swallowed hard and put those teeny tiny shorts, size XXS. I remember my mother telling me (much later) that she realized I was serious about that whole track thing when she first saw me at a meet in those shorts.
I went on to run track and cross-country all four years in high school and went to State every year. Being an athlete was a huge part of my identity in high school. I loved to lift weights, to practice with the sprinters and then go for a long run, to track my progress on different courses. My best time for 3.1 miles was 20:53.
And I’ve worn short skirts ever since. 
Dear Lord,
Thank you for giving me opportunity
to push my body to its limit and the confidence to love
my body in all its imperfect perfection,
please give me the strength and perseverance as I work
to make my body healthier and stronger.
Amen.
