When you’re making your lists of things that you’re grateful for this Thanksgiving, something that might not come to mind is your physical body. A lot of people experience their bodies as a source of feelings of shame or disappointment; others experience their bodies as a regular source of physical pain; others are just very disconnected from their bodies and view them as something of a nuisance or afterthought. But a pop song from a while ago reminded me that I should be more grateful than I typically am for the body that I have.
In the song, the singer sings that she has a perfect body and I know that a pop singer singing about having a perfect body doesn’t sound like something to quote in a Pastor’s Box but let me share a few lines of the song with you. “I've got a perfect body / But sometimes I forget / I’ve got a perfect body / ‘Cause my eyelashes catch my sweat.” There might be all sorts of things about your body that you do not like, but have you ever noticed that your eyelashes catch your sweat? I hadn’t noticed that before hearing this song and there are countless little details about how our perfect bodies have been designed that I can also easily take for granted. It reminds me of a speech a friend of mine gave in a college speech class in which he expressed appreciation for the good job that his wrists do. No notes. No complaints. Good job, wrists.
Here’s how the same sort of idea is expressed in the Psalms: “I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your deeds, And my soul knows this very well. My bone was not hidden from You, When I was made in hiding, I was embroidered in the lower parts of the earth.” (Psalm 139:14-15) I love that word choice from the Kempton Project Translation — embroidered — it holds the feeling of countless careful hours spent to make something beautiful. You were embroidered by your Creator when He made you in His image and likeness. This Thanksgiving, in spite of whatever challenges or hang-ups you might have with your body, I invite you to see if you can also find some part of your body for which you can simply be grateful.