Barbie...

My two little granddaughters were visiting this weekend. They love to curl up on my bed in the morning and settle in for tickles and giggles and stories to tell. I don't know who likes it more - me or them! This past time, I watched as my seven year old played with one of her latest Barbie dolls - a birthday present from her grandfather. Her sister, at age eleven, is beginning to question the impossible standard that she sees embodied in Barbie. With a clear and honest observation of the contradiction between these dolls and what she sees all around her, she tells me flatly, "I don't get it. Nobody looks like that!" This little girl is growing up! I imagine to myself, what would Barbie say, if she could climb out of her plastic body, move her plastic lips and tell us what she thinks of her world. It might go something like this.

Would you stop looking at me, already? I hate the way people are constantly gawking at me. Little girls want to grow up to be just like me. Little boys hope they get to marry their own 'Barbie Doll' some day. Let me tell you, it is no picnic being Barbie! For over 50 years now, I haven't had a decent meal, EVER! If I gain an ounce, I've been told - I'm out of a job. And I cannot afford to be out of a job. Do you realize how much money it takes to dress like this? I set the standard, they say. Everyone wants to look like me. For my entire life, I haven't been able to age a day. That's right. No fat, no wrinkles, no laugh lines, no grey hair...No life. I wonder what it's like to laugh so hard your belly hurts. To smile so often, your face gets lines? To cry when it hurts instead of pretending it never does? To know that even when you are old and grey, you are loved by your Creator? To know that it's OK to admit you're not perfect. You don't have to be. God loves you just the way you are. I can't imagine that kind of freedom. Don't ever trade it for a cheap imitation.

You know what I wish? I wish I could trade places with YOU. I would do it in a minute. Just for the chance to be real...


Scripture Reference: Psalm 139: 14 "I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made..."