GRACE MOMMA GRACE — Saggy skin, stretch marks, and other beautiful scars — a Strong Mom Post
GRACE MOMMA, GRACE. So you’ve had a baby… and now your body is different than it was before. You have saggy skin. Stretch marks. Cellulite. Momma… guess what? So do I.
And I love myself even still.
My saggy skin on my stomach reminds me that my stomach grew, and provided life, for not just 1, but 3, beautiful and perfect humans. My stretch marks remind me that it took work for my body to grow a human. Work that left a scar.
“Never be ashamed of a scar. It simply means you were stronger than whatever tried to hurt you.”
-Unknown
My cellulite reminds me that it’s okay to be flawed. It’s okay to be imperfect. Because when I strive to live a life full of grace toward myself, instead of constantly seeking perfection (which doesn’t exist), I can live my life from a place of worthiness. A place of love. A place of compassion. For myself and others.
If you’re on a postpartum or weight loss journey? The best advice I can give you is: Don’t compare yourself to anyone. Not even YOU! Your body has never bounced back from THIS baby before. And if you didn’t just have a baby? You have never been in THIS life situation before. Sure. Maybe you’ve lost weight before. But have you been in the life situation you are now? Have you been as old as you are now? Have you been going through the mental/emotional battle you’re going through now?
I can’t even compare myself to myself with previous babies… because I’ve never bounced back from a THIRD baby before. I’ve never been 29 as I strive to lose the baby weight.
Does that give you an excuse to just give up and “throw in the towel?” No. But it does allow you to give yourself GRACE.
Grace, and the empowering knowledge that you can do something to move forward; to control what you CAN control. You can control whether or not you exercise today. You can control what goes into your shopping cart at the store. You can control if you make dinner tonight, or order takeout. You can control what goes into your mouth. You can control what doesn’t go into your mouth. You can control the things you read, listen to, and watch that contribute to your positive self-talk and image.
And while you’re doing your best in all of those areas? Be grateful for your amazing body all along the way. And give yourself grace.
Let go of all expectations of where you “should” be, and embrace where you ARE.
Smile in your before pictures. Love the incredible body you have now and express gratitude to it for all the incredible things it’s helped you do, become, and create. Your body is amazing. Exactly as it is.
And if anyone tells you otherwise? Recognize that for what it is. A lie.
You momma, you are amazing. You are beautiful. Your imperfections are what make you perfect.
I love you. Now go, and love yourself.
Originally published at https://strongmomsblog.com on July 28, 2020.
