So I recently read a blog post about this mom's relationship with her body. Go read it. It's ok. I'll wait right here while you do that.
You read it? Oh, good.
What's interesting about this one is that I have some of the exact same feelings about my body, even though no one has ever lived in here but me. I remember when I lived in California the first time (nearly ten years ago now!) Emma hugged me with her face on my belly (she was so little then!) and said, "You have the snugliest belly!" She said it with such love that I couldn't help but feel good about it! Sometimes, still, she'll kneel down on the floor so she's about the height she had been at four years old and hug me to see if my belly is as snugly as it once was. The verdict: it ain't what it used to be. I have to confess some relief in that. I have made deliberate efforts to be more physically well, and part of that has been the shedding of pounds. Still, I see the broken veins in my legs, and the stretch marks across my own never-inhabited abdomen and I don't feel quite as pleased as I did with Emma's initial declaration. Even so, here I am, clothed in flesh, a symbol of my obedience to God, and of His love for me.
Earlier this month I spent several days with a friend who was welcoming child #3 into the world. While my friend, her husband, and the relative medical professionals were busy encouraging #3 to move out of her plush, fully furnished, uterine town home, into the bright, noisy world, I hung out with kids 1 and 2. The kids and I went, more or less, about the usual dailiness of life: preparing and eating meals, wiping bums, playing out of doors, watching TV, and taking naps. Just normal, fleshy, kinds of days.
Within a day or so of #3 moving into our world, she got to come home and meet her life-time lab partners. She had all the parts the packing instructions indicated she should, and seemed to function properly-- eating, sleeping, pooping. One evening I got to hold the wee little Darling and, as I don't get to spend much time with new seedlings very often, holding that little warm bundle of life felt especially notable. I felt as if I should remove my shoes, for I was on hallowed ground. God knew what He was about when He called these bodies temples. I mean, there she was, all dressed up in her brand-new symbol of her obedience to God! Wow. I mean, wow.
