TO NOTICE AND TO LOVE
It's one thing to accept the seeming "imperfections" we were born with, and another to learn to live with the scars life gives us.
When I was three years old, I fell into a bucket of hot water, and that experience left me with a scarred right leg. For the longest time, I thought I was a "trouser person", but of recent, I realized that the reason I ran away from styling dresses and skirts was because I was trying to hide.
In secondary school, I had to wear skirts, though. Looking back now, I see how I survived those six years of my life by ignoring my scar. But that was just a front, backstage I was down to trying any method or lotion for clearing my scar, however unhealthy or damaging it was to my skin.
It was in those years of "ignoring to survive" that I met the Lord, who started teaching me to "see in order to thrive". Walking with God, who was able to take all of me in at a glance, was difficult. Because ABBA is fond of seeing you fully, and loving you ever so completely.
The saying that goes, "see yourself as God sees you," took a whole new turn for me. It wasn't just about appreciating myself from God's perspective but choosing not to look over some parts of myself when I look in the mirror. I had to learn that my scar wasn't only an evidence that I survived an accident but a testament that God is faithful. My mum used to tell me how the doctor told her I wouldn't be able to walk properly anymore because of an imbalance. Now I laugh when my friends call me Maserati feet because of how fast I walk.
When I look at my scar now, I remember that my body is just healing. However slow the process may be. That beauty and "perfection" isn't some destination when my scar eventually fades completely, the journey itself is beautiful. Attempting to speed up my healing process with chemicals and not letting it take its natural course is me being unkind to myself.
Today, and every day to come, I'm choosing not to be ashamed of my skin's victories and hide her process, but to fully embrace it.
What about you? How have you been learning to see and love yourself fully?
Written by Favour Ara