What she saw…

By: Zenobia Bryant, Ph.D.

She took one look and was appalled by what she saw.  Dark skin, big nose, kinky hair.  Skin tone too dark, complexion sprinkled with scars.  Body tall and lanky.  Her frame fragile and unlovable.  So in that moment she bowed her head, and accepted her fate.  The fate of self-hate.  If she couldn’t love herself, surely it was impossible for anyone else to love her.  From that moment on she vowed to never spend a moment longer in the mirror than necessary.  Why waste time looking at something so imperfect? 

Then she found dance.  Or dance found her (not sure how the order happened).  But all she knows is after dance came into her life what she saw changed.  For someone who hated to look in the mirror because she despised her reflection, being in a room covered in mirrors was nerve wrecking.  She always struggled to believe that she was fearfully and wonderfully made and that every fiber of her being was intricately woven together.  So in order to drive this point home, God got creative.  As much as it shook her to her core to stand in front of all those mirrors dance kept calling her so she kept showing up.  And over time, without her realizing it, she was falling in love with her body.  Every nook, every curve, and every imperfection she now saw as perfect.  You see dance, especially ballet, is about knowing your body so well you are able to isolate different body parts and make them oppose each other while completing one singular movement.  Each movement pulls from your body’s own strength and flexibility.  As she watched her muscles pull and tug, as she watched her body develop and flow from one position to the next she begin to see the magnificent beauty she possessed.  With each glimpse of herself in the mirror, the more in love she fell with the person that looked back at her.  What she saw was now different.  What she saw was now beautiful and loved.  Now she loved and respected what she saw.  What she saw was a strong woman with purpose!

(Psalm 139:13-16)