Monday, October 11, 2010

Paint Your Nails Anyway!

So, I thought I would jump on the blogging bandwagon and see if this is as cathartic for me as it is for others. First, I owe the title of my blog to my bestie. Through the many trials of my life I can count on her to counsel me with scripture and I can still remember her telling me, "He will give you beauty for ashes!" I am not the best writer so I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors that are sure to occur. So, let's begin. I am 36 years old and for the last 19 years I have been living with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). It's a painful disease that has affected me physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. For many years it was a source of shame for me, but over the years I have learned to accept it (on most days) and embrace my "new normal." As a woman, I must admit I have vanity issues. I am a "girly girl" and I love to adorn myself with beautiful things and the latest fashions! I used to be one to get my hair done weekly (not anymore because I am natural now, but that is for another blog) and I love to get a mani and pedi. I especially love getting a design on my big toe! For many years I did not want to wear sandals because of the effect the RA had taken on bones and joints. RA is a disease that causes changes in your joints and bones, sometimes making things crooked that should be straight. As a self-proclaimed vain woman, I didn't want to show my less than perfect feet, even though they had the perfect pedi and a cute design. My pedicurist and I were the only ones to admire my ten little piggy's. Until one day I had a friend, who shall remain nameless, who had less than desirable looking feet. Yet she wore sandals all the time! She didn't have RA like me, but I will assume the condition of her feet came from wearing ill-fitting shoes. Anyway, I recall her saying, "these are the only feet I have so if you don't like 'em, don't look at 'em!" LOL...I immediately started wearing sandals! Now, I hate for winter to come because I know I am going to have to enclose my feet in socks, boots, and the like. I have so many sandals in so many colors and styles that I can't count them! This was the first of many steps that I have taken towards self-love and acceptance. A small step for some but a huge step for me! Now everyone can admire my fabulous pedicure and cute design, or not, it doesn't matter to me because, "these are the only feet I have so if you don't like 'em, don't look at 'em!" I am so proud to see, companies like Dove tackling self-esteem with young girls and women. Our society attaches so much meaning to outward appearances that teen-age girls are having plastic surgery to correct what is "wrong"...well I say God made me just as he wanted me to be...flaws and all.  There are so many women who struggle with self-esteem and unfortunately there are so many women who have RA as it tends to affect women more than men. I hope this speaks to those women. I hope it encourages someone to come out of the shadows and embrace themselves for who they are and how they look. Whether it's a weight issue, a skin color issue, a physical deformity, a hair issue, etc., we must remember God created us as a masterpiece. There's no one like me and there's no one like you...How beautiful is that? So even if you have tiny crooked toes like me, Paint Your Nails Anyway! If you want to learn more about RA visit www.arthritis.org.

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14

8 comments:

  1. Thank you for sharing your testimony.
    We do need to embrace how he created us opposed to hating and hiding what he created. Today when I step out I vow to embrace his workS.

    P.S. Very well written lady ;o)

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  2. Love it! Keep writing, chica.

    Always, K-bird

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  3. WOW! You never cease to amaze me :-)....I needed that at this very Moment.....SLP Parnter from NCCU - Cynthia

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  4. Hey Big Sis! I love it....I so look forward to reading more!

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  5. thanks everyone for reading and for your comments!

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  6. That is wonderful! I'm so proud of you for your growth and maturity. I am blessed to call you friend.

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  7. I love it Mil! I love it!

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  8. No Lisa, I am blessed to call you friend! Tried and True...Love you!

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