I bought the cutest new mustard colored shirt from Target a couple of weeks ago. My ladies Bible study group had it’s first meeting for the Fall semester this morning, so I quickly grabbed my new shirt, wanting to look cute. After putting it on and standing in front of the mirror and adjusting things for a few minutes, I walked out of the closet and asked my husband, “Honey, how does this look? Does it look cute?”

“Oh yeah, babe I love that on you. You look beautiful!”

I walked back into the closet, stood in front of the mirror again, grabbed a vest, put it on over my new shirt and and sighed, “OK, that’s better. Now no one can see my pooch,” and I walked out the door.

My husband was already getting the kids into the van when I walked out into the garage.

“Hey, why did you put that vest on?” He asked.

“Huh? Oh, I don’t know, I just thought this shirt looked better with it on, that’s all.”

He grabbed me by the shoulders and looked me square in the eyes. “Honey, you don’t need to wear the vest. You looked great with out it. You don’t have to cover yourself up to be beautiful.”

He pulled me close and held me tightly. I melted into his big arms and just laid my head on his shoulder for a few moments.

“He really believes I’m beautiful,” I thought to myself. And with that, I stepped back, took off my vest and climbed into the van. And today I walked out of the house wearing my new mustard colored shirt with a different kind of confidence. But it’s a confidence that I have to be reminded to have.

Why can’t I just believe my husband when he tells me I’m beautiful?!?

Here’s the thing ladies, whether we have 10 pounds of baby weight left to lose or 100, we each struggle with the fact that our bodies are just different after we have kids. It can take months, even years, to get back to a point of being comfortable in our own skin. And more often than not, our minds can’t get past the fact that there are extra parts of us there that didn’t used to be. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still look beautiful.

And it certainly doesn’t mean that our husbands don’t still find us gorgeous.

So here’s what I’m going to try and do from here on out ladies. I’m going to do my best to believe my husband the first time he tells me I’m beautiful.

I’m going to believe him when he tells me while I’m getting ready in the morning.

I’m going to believe him when he tells me while I’m playing at the park with our kids.

I’m going to believe him when he tells me while I’m watering the flowers.

I’m going to believe him when he tells me while we’re having sex.

I’m going to believe him when he tells me when I’m in my sweats on the couch.

I’m going to believe him when he tells me as I’m getting out of the shower and he sneaks a look.

And I’m going to believe him when he tells me when I ask if my new shirt is cute.

Because this body…this body is too beautiful to waste time trying to figure out how to cover it up. I know that my husband thinks so.

And I believe him.