A Skin-Deep Celebration!

Volume 5, Number 18

A Skin-Deep Celebration!

I was in my early thirties when both of my children were born—15 months apart. Three successive pregnancies in four years—our first being an unfortunate miscarriage—had caused me to gain weight and I became super disgusted at myself. But when my 35th birthday arrived, I had lost just about all my baby weight gain. To celebrate the weight loss, new body, new journey and new milestone birthday, my husband took me clothes shopping. I fell in love with this pretty burgundy suit at Macy’s and loved its tailored fit. For the first time in a long while, I felt good about my body and very thankful I was not pregnant!

That next Sunday, I wore the pretty burgundy suit to church, where my husband was the music and choir director. I stood in the doorway of the bustling choir room, catching the eyes of the choir first while waiting for the director’s eye and his approval of this new me! As he turned around and glanced at me, he did a double take and then said to the choir, “Wow! Doesn’t my wife look great in her birthday suit?” I can’t describe the laughter and applause that continued for several minutes! It was a fun and hilarious moment of the play on words!

Yes, I looked great in my birthday suit—the burgundy one I just purchased from Macy’s! However, my real birthday skin suit still needs work. I’m especially aware of early aging warning signals of the skin suit God gave me. Knowing your body and caring for it is a good thing. While many parts of our bodies work in tandem with each other, the skin often reflects the health and well-being of what’s going on internally. Here’s what the experts say is the perfect prescription for great skin!

1. Drinking pure water is your best friend in keeping your skin supple, hydrated and healthy. Remember, skin is your largest organ and it needs water to remain youthful in appearance.
2. Genetics play an important role, but what you put on your plate also plays a huge role. Eat fruits, vegetables, lean meats and whole grains. A diet rich in Vitamin C, high protein and low in carbohydrates can keep skin looking young.
3. Don’t smoke. And protect your skin from the sun with moisturizers and a high SPF. A doctor’s evaluation of trouble spots is highly recommended.
4. Pampering yourself and taking care of your body is a must. Managing the stress in your life will make your birthday suit glad you’re in it!

“You can easily enough see how this kind of thing works by looking no further than your own body. Your body has many parts—limbs, organs, cells—but no matter how many parts you can name, you're still one body. It's exactly the same with Christ”
(1 Corinthians 12: 12, The Message).

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