Flawlessly Shameless

I recently watched an episode of Modern Family where Mitch and Cam’s friend got calf implants. Yes, you heard right, calf implants. If you haven’t seen the episode yet, I highly suggest that you watch it because it was HILARIOUS (as always)! It made me realize that body image has become such a huge epidemic in today’s society that even our media outlets take part in poking fun at how overly concerned we’ve become with our appearances. It’s no surprise that having plastic surgery or finding less invasive ways to alter our appearances have become the norm. I’d be lying if I said that I won’t ever go down the path of plastic surgery. After all, I already dye my hair to alter my appearance and one day, it’ll be necessary if I want to keep the grays from making their inevitable debut; and if I’m being totally honest, I do have porcelain veneers as a result of tooth damage, so what’s to stop me from getting a little Botox or a more serious augmentation later down the line? I know for certain that my husband would have something to say to try to stop me but is there anything that I can say to myself to stop me?

Everyone struggles with body image issues, including men, whether we want to believe it about ourselves or not. I can almost guarantee that every one of us has or has had some kind of issue with a part of our body that simply can’t be changed by eating healthy and physical activity. I’m not talking about a broken nose, a chipped tooth or loose skin after major weight loss (I think those things warrant a correction); I’m talking about things like freckles, pointy noses, or the color of our eyes- the things that make us unique, the things that come standard on us. I for one am no less guilty of not feeling shame for one or more of my body parts despite knowing that my beauty and worth comes from within. I am human, after all.

It’s sad that in this world we live in we are made to feel ashamed of the things that make us unique as individuals; for me, one of those things used to be my freckles. (What a silly word, by the way!) No matter what I’ve done to try to prevent them, there was and still is no stopping the freckles that have spread throughout my entire body like wildfire. When I was younger, I remember being so paranoid that I would try to halt their existence by slathering on sunscreen in the hopes that it would do the trick, but nope, nothing could stop those bad boys from popping up. People used to tell me, “oh but your freckles are so cute!” whatever! Anyone that has freckles like I do knows what I’m talking about, or anyone with a part of their body they’re ashamed of for that matter. When you’re ashamed of a physical attribute of yours, no one else can change the way that you see that part of yourself but yourself.

It took me a while to realize that those people were right to try to help me see my freckles differently. You see, I may not see my freckles as “cute”, but they are something about me that make me unique, a stamp that God put on me so that He’ll know “That’s Amanda!” and that is nothing for me to be ashamed of. God didn’t plague me with having freckles so that I would be seen as not having flawless skin by the world; he blessed me so that I would be seen as flawless by Him! Instead of feeling ashamed, I’ve learned to be proud that God took the time to strategically plan out and place every single freckle with such diligent care. I was born to have these freckles because He said so. I stopped caring how the world sees my skin and focused on how God sees my skin and that’s what makes me beautiful. 

While freckles aren’t technically something that can be changed by plastic surgery (though I’m sure there are ways these days), there are other parts about myself that I don’t like that can be easily changed with surgery; like Mitch and Cam’s friend, I’m not a huge fan of my calves either. Now before you jump the gun in thinking that I should be able to alter them through exercise, nothing that I physically do is ever going to give me Britney Spears’ dream-like calves; trust me I’ve tried. (I know what you’re thinking- Britney Spears, really Amanda? But hey, I’m a product of the new millennium!) Anyway, my point being is that no matter how much muscle I build by doing calf raises or by running (just kidding, I don’t run), my calves will never look like Britney Spears’ because God built us to be different. Even if I had plastic surgery to enhance what exercise cant, they’re still not going to compare! My calves are what make me Amanda and Britney’s are what make her Britney. Should I be ashamed or envious of that even if I were to have surgery? No way!

I’m always so saddened when I watch plastic surgery shows about people who try to alter their entire bodies. I don’t think that often times these people are getting to the root of their problems. It’s not a specific body part that makes these people genuinely unhappy with themselves, it’s the shame that they feel for being less than perfect in the eyes of the world. Everything about you, the shape of your nose, the freckles on your skin, the colors of your eyes, the places that you and only you gain weight or build muscle are what make you, uniquely YOU! That is nothing to be ashamed of.

I don’t really know how I feel about plastic surgery, personally. I know that God wants us to be happy and live at peace with ourselves and with the choices that we make. Regardless of whatever those choices may be, He loves us unconditionally. So for me, I believe that plastic surgery is a personal choice and whatever you decide is right for you, is between yourself and God. If surgery, invasive or noninvasive, helps you in shedding your shame and living at peace with yourself, whether it’s right or wrong is not for anyone else to judge. Just know that regardless, you don’t have to be ashamed of the physical attributes that God gave you. He loves you just the same and only he can free you from the shame. He took the time to make you the way He wanted you, not the way the world wants you. God doesn’t publish anything he isn’t already proud of.

“You are altogether beautiful, my darling, beautiful in every way” Song of Solomon 4:7