One of a Kind

Disclaimer...I have no idea if these are Lularoe.

And no idea if these are Lularoe.

Like many other women, I have become addicted to LulaRoe over the last 6 months.  And not just to their buttery leggings which are awesome…I’m actually more addicted to their many other styles of clothing.  And luckily I have a good friend that is a consultant and let me try on every single style and size this past week.  Naturally this is great news for me because now when I see something I like, I know exactly what size is most flattering on me.  The concept of "flattering" got me thinking.  As I was trying on various styles and sizes, I couldn’t help but think about the many different body types and sizes there are among woman (and men).  Lularoe has found a way to make clothes for many different body types and I hope women are finding a style and size to make them feel beautiful.  Because too many times woman who are sized differently from models in the fashion industry are left to feel different, and maybe even ugly.  A day shopping for clothes can definitely take a toll on your self-esteem.
 
My mom and I were talking about self-esteem last week.  And how neither of us embraced our long legs until later in life.  In fact, I pretty much hated my long legs, arms, hands and feet until maybe the last 5 years.  And honestly, there are days I still don’t love my long arms.  You know how they say if you measure the length between fingertip to fingertip, it should equal your height?  Well if that were true, I would be 6 foot 6 inches.  I’m only 5 foot 9 inches.  I have some ridiculously long arms. I had my own, personal "built-in selfie stick" LONG before selfie sticks were a thing.  I’m just long.  So everything is short on me.  For example, I accidentally dried a Nike winter running pullover on high heat and now it’s a 3/4 quarter length top on me.  So frustrating.  And I would imagine woman who are short or round or have areas of their body that aren’t quite like a cookie cutter get equally frustrated or discouraged when clothes do not fit.  Or you can’t find your size.  Or the store doesn’t make your size.  It plays on your self-esteem and even your perception of self-worth.  And it’s hard.  And sad.  Because God made each of us different and unique and collectively we all contribute to a world full of beautifully different people.  If I put aside my fashion frustrations, there is something overwhelmingly breath-taking about the fact I’m one of a kind.  God crafted me just the way I am. 
 
Psalm 139:13-18
You made all my delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.  Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex!  Your workmanship is marvelous – how well I know it.  You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.  You saw me before I was born.  Every day of my life was recorded in your book.  Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.  How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.  They cannot be numbered!  I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand.  And when I wake up, you are still with me.
 
If I am tall or large or even obese…God made me and loves me and knows me and my struggles.  He thinks we are equally beautiful exactly how we are today.  Or how we are going to be tomorrow.  And sometimes we just need that reminder.  He sees past our outward appearance and we would be best served to do the same.

Beautiful, different and one of a kind,

Ashley Lucille

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