I am not a person who gets embarrassed easily. I don’t shy away from uncomfortable topics and I have no problem talking to my kids about how babies are made. BUT…I will never forget the time when all three of my kids simultaneously asked me questions about my nether-region while in a Target restroom. Ah! My face turned into a Target Red Card! I can still hear their questions reverberating off those walls even today. ????♀️
The funny part, too, is that I don’t even need to tell you what those questions were. You know them all too well.
That’s because your kids have also said:
- That your pee is smelly.
- That you have a GINORMOUS butt.
- That your new baby is “stupid”.
- That farting on kids’ faces isn’t okay.
Hahahahahahahahaha! (You guys killed me with your survey responses!)
My kids have called me “squishy” (all while demonstrating to strangers how this is true – by jiggling my triceps).They’ve asked me why my “chest bumps” are so droopy and why my face has “strange things” on it (aka pimples, moles, wrinkles…Clearly I need better foundation!) The list goes on…
I thought I had a good sense of humor before having children, but it turns out I didn’t laugh at myself nearly as much as I should have. But the truth is, our kids aren’t trying to be rude; they’re just curious and have no filter! And honestly…we can learn a little from them.
Now, I’m not suggesting we walk around blurting out everything that pops into our minds (like, “Mom! I just got pee on my hair!” #truestory…How is that even possible?!?!?! ????). But I do think we should stop tiptoeing around our insecurities.
What we try to hide, our kids hang out to dry. And we should do the same!!!
Never is this more true than summertime in MN. We hibernate (literally) all winter long and then are expected to bare it all at the beach – ah! After I had my second daughter, getting in a swimsuit was like wrestling an animal into a leotard – it just wasn’t gonna happen. But my kids kept BEGGING me to go swimming with them, so I knew I had a choice:
I could either let the enemy convolute and warp my thoughts into thinking that sitting on the beach in a mumu was better; OR I could rise above my insecurities, proclaim God’s truth, and go make memories with my kids! (Thankfully, I chose the latter.)
Plus God says to [all moms everywhere] that while people may look at outward appearances, HE looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7, paraphrased).
This means God doesn’t care about our stretch marks, saddle bags, cellulite, or mom pooches. He sees our hearts. And so do our kids! (Well, they also see our wrinkles and muffin tops, but they don’t think less about us because of them! And neither should we.)
Choosing to rise above what other people say about us is never easy (even when it’s our kids). This takes GUTS…and a whole lot of faith and humility. But doing so tells the enemy that he can NOT use our body image (or social image, faith image, or even our mom image) to keep us from experiencing life! After all, our imperfections may make us human, but the Holy Spirit can take those imperfections and bring us closer to God.
So today, let’s choose truth over insecurity, victory over comparison, and life over mumus!!
Jonna Meidal is a mother to 3 girls who seeks to parent them by the fruits of the spirit (and her Quiet Hat). She’s been to 20 countries (yay!), loves to write & laugh (a LOT), & can’t get through the day without eating popcorn (duh!). You can read more of what she’s been up to at jonnameidal.com or follow her adventures on Instagram @jonnameidal.