Bless this body — even its slightly saggy chin.

I have body issues. Do you? Ha ha. Who doesn’t? I listened to a podcast today with Kate Bowler and Susan Burton. They talked about their bodies, sharing a kinship because they have both gone through illnesses. Kate writes blessings and posts them on social media. She did not post this as one of those blessings, but it is a blessing and it echoed in my heart.

The show prompted me to think of how, when I see myself these days, I often think I look like my grandma Grace Kok. I remember noticing that her chin was kind of outlined by her cheeks (jowls?) that hung down a little bit on each side. Now my chin has that outline. At first, I would see this and think, rather aghast, “I look like Grandma!” I would ponder on the incredibility that I am a grandma, that I am what, when I noticed that on my own grandma, I would have called “old.” It was a disturbing thought. Then today, when I heard this podcast and thought about that again, I suddenly realized when I looked at my grandma and noticed that about her face, I loved her. I loved looking at her face. I loved her eyes looking at me in love. I loved seeing her skin jiggle a little bit as she lovingly told me a story or laughed with me or taught me how to do something. I am glad I see my grandma when I look in the mirror. It’s lovely.

Blessed is the body that offers soft hugs on hard days.

Whose curves fit our pets and our kids and our partners.

Whose hands hold another alongside hospital beds and in nursing homes and at the altar and on the first day of school.

Whose breasts nurse and legs run to chase littles and toes balance us on the earth.

Whose wrinkles tell stories of laughs and tears and worries.

Blessed are these imperfect, fragile bodies.

This flesh and bone.

These cells that sometimes duplicate for no reason whatsoever.

This skin that is stitched together with scars and stretch marks and fine lines.

Blessed is the body because it is a home.

Not just for us, but for those who love us.

And as my friend Barbara Brown Taylor says,

sometimes you just need to stand in front of the mirror

and take off all your clothes,

and remember that this body, your body, is God’s home address.