Beautiful

Today—“Earth Day”—marks the opening day of Cash for Appliances here in California. Do you have an old, shabby, energy-guzzling refrigerator? If you live in California you can get $200 by exchanging it for a brand-new, energy-saving refrigerator of your dreams. Such a trade will be easier on your electric bill too. What a deal!

Thinking about the old, energy-guzzling refrigerators makes me think of the way I used feel physically. Oh, I wasn’t old—on the contrary I was in high school. But the way I guzzled sugar and fats abused my supply of energy and I felt very old.

The way peers looked past me, as if I was different from them made me feel old too. I wore clothes an older person might wear, mostly because younger clothes made me feel more over-weight. I wanted to hide behind long skirts and bulky shirts.

My energy level was very low for my age. I remember the embarrassment of trying to run the required 3 miles in PE—and the irritation my teacher had with me when it took me past the class period to finish it.

In short—I felt like an energy-guzzling, old, shabby appliance that needed an overhaul. If there had been a special deal to trade-in my body for another, I would have taken it.

I thank God that since those days I have learned to appreciate myself—weaknesses and all. I don’t want to trade-in myself anymore. I’ll probably never be super-thin or willowy, but I truly believe that I have a gift—my body, soul, mind, and heart, the entire package.

I’m also grateful that I can work on improving myself without replacing the other beautiful parts of my life. When it comes to appliances, newer might be better, but as my body gets older, I believe I get more beautiful.