It is that dreaded time of year . . . or should I say that dreaded time every three to five years . . . when I go shopping for a swimsuit. The body type with which I have been blessed is not one conducive to swimsuits of any style let alone bikinis, tankinis, or two-piece suits, thus the fact that I do not purchase a swimsuit every summer. Just the thought of shopping for one brings me as much pleasure as a root canal or donating blood, but after searching the swimsuit section in a local department store, I made my way to the fitting room with the short list of possibilities.
As I tried on my options, the short list got shorter and the reject pile got higher. One of the remaining suits was fitted with slimming panels. A panel in the front disguised the tummy while panels on each side trimmed the waistline. Once I got the suit on and established the fact that it made a minimally respectable effort to accomplish its proclaimed benefits, there was another problem. There was no hiding the thunder thighs that glared back at me from the dressing room mirror.
I didn’t select the suit that did its best to make me look three sizes smaller but I did make a purchase despite the issue of the glaring thighs. The suit was on sale so the experience was made slightly more palatable at the cash register. I could not escape the fact, however, that in the brightness of the summer sun there was a major portion of me that could never be disguised.
What “slimming panels” do you use to try to cover the things about you that you hope no one notices? Is there a mask of insincere and overused smiles or a self-aggrandizing persona you adopt so that flaws and insecurities are never laid bare for all to see? Regardless, there is one who loves you and wants a relationship with you in spite of all the thunder thighs in your life. God sees right through any and every disguise you employ and is waiting for you to drop them all and present your real self to him.
Blessings!
