You Are Worthy

By: Amy Marcle

If you are like most people that I know, the thought of going out in public in a bathing suit terrifies you.  Whether you are physically in shape or could us a little help in that area, we all feel self-conscious at times about our bodies.  I have spent the last few days at the beach and noticed that there were many people whom you could tell felt completely confident being there.  However, there were others who refrained from getting in the water, or some even out from under their umbrella, because they lacked the confidence to do so.  Some paraded around in tiny bikinis while others stayed covered the entire time.  Some may have been due to their beliefs, but I heard several say it was the way they looked.   Parents were there with kids who would not get in the pool and play.  When asked why, responses were “Daddy’s too big.  Or Mommy looks awful,” things of that nature.  Their children became disappointed because all they saw was “mommy and daddy” not playing with them.  The children did not care if their parents were super fit and trim.  They just wanted time with them.

How many people have you heard say “I can’t go to the beach until I lose a few pounds.”  Or “this body is not beach ready yet.”  What we forget when we say things of that nature is that everybody is a beach body.  One of my favorite memes I have ran across on social media was one that said: “The beach is gonna get whatever body I give it.”  We miss out on too many things in life due to lack of confidence, fear, and comparing ourselves to the progress of others.  God did not create the sandy beaches and gorgeous waves just for the skinny fit people to use.  God did not provide them for any one race, religion, or age group to use either. When God created the world, He created it for all.  He also created each of us perfectly. We are the ones who strive to change ourselves to be like others.  How boring would the world be if we all looked alike, thought alike, dressed alike, acted alike?  How uninteresting life would be if we were all the same size or liked the same things? 

The amount of time we have on this earth is not certain.  We learn in the Bible that life is “even a vapor that appeareth for a little time and then vanishes away.”  (James 4:14).  How sad would it be to come to the end of your life and have wasted so many opportunities to enjoy what life has to offer because you were too busy comparing yourself to others?  How much time can we say we have wasted by not chasing dreams, making memories, or taking chances? 

I know firsthand how hard it can be to find the confidence in yourself to enjoy life.  As I battled my eating disorder, I was at first ashamed to do things because I had convinced myself I was too big to get in a pool or walk on the beach.  Then as I lost weight and became dangerously thin, I was too ashamed to do those things because I knew in doing so it would reveal my addiction to the world.  I never thought I was good enough to share the beach with the “pretty” people.  But guess what?  I am good enough and so are YOU!

The same principle can be applied to recovering from an addiction.   People who battle addiction feel lost, trapped, and unable to walk away from the lifestyle that has made them so comfortable.   Stepping out  of addiction and into recovery is scary because you feel like the whole world is looking at you.  You feel like an open book that everyone is reading, yet they are missing important pages of your story.  When asked about beginning a recovery program, I have heard people say they felt as if they were not strong enough or brave enough to start their life over.  They were afraid of relapsing before they ever began to recover.  Worst of all, I listened as people stated they felt they did not deserve recovery after the life they had lived. 

I often parallel recovery with the forgiveness available to us through Jesus.  Recovery is a chance to put away the former, tainted lifestyle we had let choke the life out of us and begin anew.  Forgiveness is the same.  Jesus never once told someone who was sincere about repentance that they did not deserve it.  Matter of fact, Jesus died for all of our sins:  for the guy who goes to church every Sunday morning and for the prisoner who is serving out a sentence in the local prison.  He died for all races, all ages, all people, everywhere.  He died for the ones who believed in Him and He also died for the ones who don’t. 

The similarity between recovery and forgiveness is that you have to want both of them.  Recovery is not going to drag you out of addiction, you have to want it.  In order to receive forgiveness, you have to ask God for it.  But YOU are worthy of both! 

If you are reading this, I hope you are taking walks on the beach.  I hope you are playing with your children regardless of your size.  I hope you understand that YOU are worthy of happiness even if you are battling addiction.  God believes in you…it’s time you believed in yourself!