Dressember Discomfort
I have been participating in Dressember, a campaign to raise fund and awareness to fight human trafficking and honors the dignity of all women.
Every day in December I wear a dress, that isn’t too hard, even on cold days… and take a selfie and post it on instagram and FB- that is the hard part.
All the Gremlins come out to play… comparison, criticism, cowardice.. and the lies we tell ourselves. “I look fat, old, tired, fat, why can’t my pics be more clever, why can’t I just be okay with the photo and not make my hubbie take 10 more so I find one I am willing to post.
Dressember is about others and it has been a journey of growth for me as all my insecurities are leaking out. Not every day, but more often than I want to admit.
I scan the instagram feed and honestly enjoy the other pics, post genuine compliments and comments on them.. I don’t struggle with others success, beauty or cleverness… I just can’t seem to embrace mine. I am glad “she” is successful, beautiful, photogenic, clever and artsy in her endeavors… honestly!
I have a whole theory on how the world would change if women really championed and cheered for each other. so I make it a point to do so. That is not my struggle.
Being kind and gracious and celebrating my uniqueness and gift is where I stumble and bloody my knees on a regular basis.
I want to be brave enough to be me, and not sink into criticism. I want to see a picture of myself and not have the old tapes roar in my head, but be able t laugh at the really bad pics and let go of my insecurities, so I can get over the angst of posting the ones I don’t like. I am jealous of the women who seem so at home in their own bodies, that is one place I compare, and have to repent on a regular basis. Their lighthearted, genuine, free to be me smiles and pics continue to challenge me to grow and be brave.
Is this too honest, to brutal, would we rather not know the truth that all of us have mean girl days: fat and ugly days, bad hair days, please don’t get me in the picture days and we pick up the bat to beat ourselves up.
I tell myself it’s nothing compared to the discomfort the girls caught in slavery are dealing with. And that is profoundly true.
My struggle feels small and selfish, a first world problem… and it is. There is no comparing the horror of sex trafficking and slavery with the insecurities I struggle with.
What is relevant… is that lies plague us all. We struggle to believe that we are a princess daughter, beautiful in god’s eyes, redeemed, cherished, beloved…
We struggle to live in the truth of these words,
We struggle to speak these words of truth to ourselves.
Women who are resuced have to do the mental and emotional work of seeing themselves as God does… so do we. Maybe in this one place we share a sisterhood of the assault on femininity, albeit at different ends of the spectrum.
Regardless of the source of the lies we tell ourselves, God wants us to Say what He says about us. He wants us to be women who speak truth.
This word art is based on the scriptures I cling to as a reminder to Courageously speak God’s words over me and not the lies of criticism or comparison. Will you join me? what word in this graphic really touches you and resonates where you say yes… I want that to be true about me…
Redeemed?
Chosen?
Masterpiece?
Whatever it is… it IS true about you… God says so!
Post your word below… in a sentence that claims them as yours!
“I am Chosen by God!”
SPECIAL LIMITED TIME OFFER- get your own copy of this graphic:
Make a $10 donation and you get this frameable word art based on what God says about us as His daughters.
He is the King of Kings and that makes YOU… His Princess Daughter.
Donate at: and Post a comment: “I donated” below, so i will have your email address. Once I get confirmation of your donation – I will email you a pdf of this beautiful art! You can print it and give it as gifts as many times as you would like.
Offer available: Monday 12-22 through 9 am Christmas Eve! ONLY!