I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

We all have things about us that we don’t like. I know this because plastic surgery is a multi-billion-dollar industry, there was approximately $10 billion spent last year on cosmetic surgery. I am personally not against plastic surgery, if you have the means and if it helps you physically or emotionally then go for it.

It is, however, ironic that billions of dollars are spent on non-medical surgeries during a time or economic turbulence, (just an observation).

Plastic surgery should be used sparingly for non-medical reasons. Otherwise, you just look like, well, I don’t want to be rude so let’s just say that it is always a little too obvious when someone has had too much plastic surgery.

Plastic surgery is used as medical treatments for reconstructive issues due to illness, accidents and birth defects. Non-medical plastic surgery is used to improve those issues that we don’t like about ourselves, it improves our appearance and boosts our confidence. We should never underestimate the importance of confidence. Confidence goes way beyond vanity, and gives us the self-assurance we need to improve our quality of life.

Some of our body issues can be cured through diet, exercise, nutrition, stress relief and sleep. Not all, but some. The moral of the story is that we all have something about us that we don’t like, and if we have the means, drive and determination to fix it we should, with any method we choose.

For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb

Psalm 139:14

It is very easy to make a list of things we don’t like about ourselves but what if we made a list of things that we like about ourselves. Plastic surgery is purely aesthetic so let’s start with the things that we like about ourselves, using just the eye. I’ll go first:

Since I have hit middle age, by the way, 50 is only middle age if you live to be 100. Once you turn 50 you are more like ¾ age, or upper-middle age. Right?

Back on point.

I like my eyes, the color and shape. Now that I just realized my life is more than half over, I don’t like what is happening to my eyes, to be more specific the skin around my eyes. I also like my hair, well, most of the time, on days with very low humidity. There are other things that I do like, but if I were to make a list, the things I don’t like would far outweigh the things I do like. Unfortunately, that list of dislikes has grown quite a bit since I was in the ¼ age bracket, or the lower-middle age, when things were knit together a little tighter.

What about things you can’t see with the eye, the things that can’t be fixed with plastic surgery? What are the things that you like and dislike about your inner-being, your character or your morality? Again, I’ll go first:

I like my honesty; it is very difficult for me to lie. I like my sensitivity, some people think that being extra sensitive is a hindrance, I don’t. I also like my introverted nature, I didn’t for a long time but I do now. I don’t like that I am not quick witted but I do like that I can catch on pretty quickly when someone in my group is quick with the clever one liner. I actually have more things that I like about my inner-self then things I don’t like about my inner-self. This list has also grown since I was young because I wasn’t at the top of my game as a ¼ lifer, back before I valued wisdom and good common sense.

My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth

Your eyes saw my unformed body all the days ordained for me were

written in your book before one of them came to be.

Psalm 139:15-16

I penned this little children’s story almost 25 years ago. It is very difficult to find plastic surgery statistics from the early 1990’s. It was still popular then but not like today. In full disclosure, I had plastic surgery when I was 18 years old, that was 1983. I don’t really recommend plastic surgery for people that young, I wish I would have waited. I do, however, like this nose better than the other one.

This story is about a Bear that was born with aesthetic issues. He was easily made fun of because of a body issue that he had no control over. The two things that he had control over, that we all must have, in order to overcome personal body issues were his self-esteem, and work ethic.

He liked himself the way he was and had big dreams even though no one around him believed in him. He was forced to work harder and longer than the others, but he never gave up on himself. He never gave in to the pressure of plastic surgery. He chose not to just fix the problem aesthetically but chose to face the problem and work within its limitations to become limitless and achieve his life’s goal. Ironically, if he had given in to the pressure of the bully’s harsh words his life’s dream would have never become a reality. What the world around him called a flaw he made into a strength.

He used what he had to become the best that he could be and made all his dreams come true. He never questioned how he was made. He liked himself as is, body issues and all.

What about us? Can we decide to like ourselves as is? If plastic surgery wasn’t an option and we had to live with the bags under our eyes or the extra skin around our middle or the size of our…whatever, would we look in the mirror and call ourselves beautiful?

What about our inner-selves, our character? There is no plastic surgery that will fix a flawed character. We have to do that on our own.

Today make a list of what you like and don’t like about yourself, inside and out, then change what you can but in the end, accept yourself, flaws and all?

How precious to me are your thoughts; God How vast is the sum of them.

Were I to count them they would outnumber the grains of sand,

 when I awake

I am still with you

Psalm 139:17-18

 

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