Eight years ago today, I walked down the aisle and said two words that I meant with all my heart, “I DO!”
I weighed right around 275 pounds. He didn’t know how much I weighed. I would have been mortified for him to know the actual number. However, I could not tell you if it bothered him that his new bride was fat. I never knew. He never told me.
He never said, “You shouldn’t eat that.”
He never said, “You would look better if you lost 15 25 50 100 pounds.
He never said, “I will marry you IF you lose weight first.”
He never said, “I will only stay married to you IF you never gain any more weight.”
You see, they say Love is Blind. I fully believe that is not a true statement. Love is not BLIND. It sees reality. However, it sees its own reality.
My new husband, Jason, did not see my 275 pound body. He did not see my triple chin or how big my head was.
He saw my heart. He saw who I COULD be. He saw my future, hot self.
He saw ME.
He knew that I was so much more than a number on a scale.
He knew that I was so much more than how much fat was on my body.
I am so-much-more and he saw it.
And I for one, am so thankful that he did.
You see, I am one of the lucky ones. I KNOW how much my husband loves me because he married me fat and only later did I become thinner. Many, many, men marry women thinner and they later get fat. Maybe she had children. Maybe she got busy. Maybe she was stressed and ate too much. Maybe she got comfortable in her marriage and “let herself go.”
Does it really matter WHY she gained weight? No. Should it matter? No.
People are WHO they are, no matter what they look like. If those men, who are so busy criticizing their wife and what she is eating would instead LOVE them for WHO they are, maybe the woman they are criticizing would begin to love herself. Maybe she would start to see herself for who she is and maybe then she would want better for her life so that she stays in it longer.
We are reminded in 1 Corinthians 13:4 what true love is:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”
Does your significant other show you this kind of love? Do you show yourself this kind of love?
Today, on October 9, 2012, I want to say Thank You to my love, my husband of 8 years. He showed me unconditional love no matter what my weight was. He encouraged me through the weight loss process and helped me in my journey. He loved me through fat and thinner. He saw me for who I WAS and loved me no matter what.
I hope you are shown the same kind of love no matter what stage of weight you are going through! You-Are-Worth-It!
Happy Anniversary Jason – I Love You!
