we all scream for ice cream

i adore ice cream.

to me, there's no better way to complete a meal perfectly.

it's cool. it's refreshing. it's creamy and oh-so-delicious - simply the perfect end to a day.

i was talking to my friend viktorija the other day, singing the praises of ice cream, and she remarked that she had never heard anyone speak of ice cream with such enthusiasm and fervor, and that i would probably write on here about it. so viktorija, this is for you.

as i'm sure many women have, i spent the better part of my life thus far stressing about food and counting calories and robbing myself of any genuine enjoyment of my food. i hated every second of it, and i never, ever want to feel that again.

i spent a large chunk of high school hating how i looked, hating parts of myself, hating every bite i took.

i never want to feel that again.

i want to embrace the me that the lord saw fit to create. i want to embrace all of me, even the parts that bridget jones so aptly titled, "the jiggly bits." i want to love myself and see myself as the lord does.

and i want to eat my ice cream decadently out of a brandy snifter, simply for the joy of it.

and i want to love every second of it.

because for too long, i didn't. for too long i didn't allow myself to take any pleasure in it.

so every bite i now take of ice cream is a reminder that i am fearfully and wonderfully made, just the way i am. it is a reminder that God made me beautiful and i ought be grateful for my flaws and my perfections. it is a reminder that food ought be relished and embraced as a joy in life.

and boy, do i relish it.

thank you, lord, for bringing me out of the darkness into your most marvelous light.
thank you that i no longer walk through the valley of the shadow of self-hatred.
thank you that in you, i am free.

photo credit: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/recipe-collections-favorites/desserts/homemade-ice-cream-recipes-10000001626889/index.html