The story of my legs has become a hot topic. And here’s why….

When I was about 12 years old, one of my younger cousins laughed me to scorn while I was walking down the street…
I was struggling to walk straight on my heels.
And she was doubling over in laughter just behind me…

Her reason?

“Your yam legs…” She said.

And I have not forgotten that incident. For many years, I felt very self conscious about my legs.
During my teenage years, I was never tempted to wear anything short. And even into my adult life.
Self confidence has never been a problem for me, but this little thing was something I couldn’t get past…
I’m sure my Mum was thinking how well she did that I never tried to sneak out wearing minis, without knowing that I was not being a “good” girl about the entire thing…
Many of you may know that owing to some health related issues, I started wearing heels at the age of 5.
So, getting them “yam legs” was a small price to pay…
so, while I felt very self conscious about my legs, I didn’t stop wearing heels.

Many years later, I wore my first shorts out on the street of an European city… and heads were turning… 😳😳
Surprisingly, no one said anything about my legs. And my husband was chuckling besides me that first day. It was a very hot summer afternoon and the idea of long trousers was not appealing in any way… so, I grabbed the shorts which my husband  and I had bought several months before and marched out.
And I received some very nice compliments…

I came home that day and I realised that truly people will laugh at and ridicule you based on their limited knowledge and perspective of what you’re about.
But, there will always be some others who will look deeper and beyond every physical thing that had been considered your handicap.

After I started wearing knee length things and even shorter dresses ( I seriously wonder why almost all the cute dresses they make these days are short), a friend of mine would jokingly tell me “na waa for those your yam leg oo”.  And, I’d look him squarely in the eye and smile sweetly at him…
My reason? He wasn’t seeing clearly.

“Which yam legs?
So you look at all of me and my awesomeness and you get stuck at my legs?” I ask him.

And I feel sorry for him and his short sightedness…

“May God open your eyes to see better”. I told him one day. And that was the last I heard of that joke.

Sharing this story is not for you to tell me I am beautiful, I already that I am. Or that my legs are great… I think I exactly what my legs look like. But the story of my legs has been told a thousand times over and over and will continue to be told. It was legs for me, maybe for you it’s your weight, or your skin, or your height or your bank account or your qualifications or lack thereof…

So, as I share this story, the story of my legs, I want to remind you to be conscious of whose voice you keep in your ears.

It is just to remind you to always ignore the naysayers.
You know, the ones who say that you can’t. Those ones who appear to be already convinced that you’ll fail, even before you start.
The ones who only see what you’re doing wrong.
Let their derisive laughter spur you on to prove God and yourself right. Let their unbelief fuel your faith.

Spread your wings and fly!

Look closely at the photo attached, you might see the “yam legs” or maybe you might be too busy admiring my dress or my poise…

Whatever you see, that’s on you. It truly doesn’t matter to me. My mirror is and will always God, His word and my understanding of who I am.

Remind yourself of that everyday. No matter how ugly the world has told you that you are, choose whose mirror you look at.

Spread those wings, dear ones and soar! Soar as if your life depends on it, because quite frankly, it does.