What a brave thought.  Live original.  But this thought does not originate with me.  It does with Sadie Robertson of Duck Dynasty fame—whom God seems to be granting a special platform.

I work with a lot of teen girls and body image issues are prevalent. They always have been. It doesn’t matter what decade. Yet every decade something new must be hated about our bodies. Now we have the “thigh gap.” “What?” says all of the “old folks.” Thigh gap is too much a part of today’s teen conversations. And how is one to increase their thigh gap when this is yet another feature that relies heavily on DNA. Some thigh-gappers are bow-legged (like Sadie) and is that the real answer? #thigh gap is stupid.

Unfortunately, body image issues are not just a teen girl problem. Teen boys are also feeling the pressure. Young men are too. And women—no matter how old we grow we still deal with issues of hating our body.

Jesus came down and put on this same flesh that we have to give us all a chance. This same imperfect flesh. He wore it proudly and humbly. I doubt Jesus had the broad-shoulders, 6-pack abs, perfect V-shape that haunts men. He had his body and lived in it well. Then he willingly let it be broken on that cross. And you know what? That body was good enough. (Another wow thought: No other religion has this model of God identifying so deeply and compassionately with humanity. No wonder he gets blamed for everything.)

I have to believe that my body is good enough. I can live original. This is a brave thought I hope we can all wrestle with every day.

p.s. While I was sick for the month of April with a stupid yet strong virus (grrrrr), I watched a couple of episodes of “The Love Boat.” Remember, I was sick for a long time. As a child of the 70s, I remember the Love Boat being filled with glamorous and beautiful people. This was also before breast augmentation. There actually was a time when women with small breasts were considered glamorous and beautiful. They were all over the Love Boat. Do not let “Hollywood” or Instagram or Pinterest define our beauty. They will be fickle and change the rules.