hello my name is...
Labels.
Our society is inundated with labels, and I hate it.
Short, tall, skinny, fat, athlete, nerd, student, creeper, runner, feminist, racist, radical, environmentalist, hippy, hipster, friend, yogi, prude, over-achiever, under-achiever, mother, sister, grandchild, brother, father, the list could literally go on forever. And while not all labels are bad in and of themselves, they have a tendency to box us in to set "roles." I feel like they are one of the many reasons we have so many stereotypes and why we feel so much pressure to act in a certain way. Labels create an image of what we are "supposed" to look like and we develop these cookie-cutter versions of what people should look like and how they should act.
Think about it - from childhood we start to live into these preset identities and try to make ourselves what we feel like we are "expected" to be. As a little girl I loved playing house, being a mommy and pretending to cook and care for others. I liked girly things and naturally tried to avoid activities that seemed too risky or dangerous. I can't remember this being pushed on me by my parents or anyone else, it just seemed natural to me I guess.
Even as I have gotten older I feel like I have been placed into these molds and then I act how I think other people with that label should act. I was blessed to grow up going to church and being very active with my faith and I wouldn't trade this for the world. But I think much of my time spent in middle and high school was dedicated to being to good little church girl instead of pursuing what it looks like to be a disciple. This predisposition to fulfill this image took so much focus and energy away from pursuing the things that truly matter in life.
Life is not about labels; it is not about perfecting ourselves to be cookie-cutter versions of people. In reality, life is messy and imperfect; it is a work in progress that is yet to be complete. But the hope lies in the fact that there is beauty and joy in the process and in the creating. Our mistakes and slip-ups in life are how we learn some of life's most important lessons and how we become more of the people we were created to be. God has started a good work in us - He is like a potter at a wheel, constantly molding and reforming us in His likeness. Just like hardened pieces of clay, we sometimes resist His creative hand, but He does not abandon the good work He has started. God is at work within us through the entirety of our lives - He will never forsake or give up on us.
It is in Christ that we find our true and eternal identity - we are sons and daughters of a Holy God. He does not judge us based on our current condition but sees the beauty in our potential. He sees the beauty in the mess and loves us all the same. The love of God is not blind - it sees all things and deliberately chooses to love anyway. This is such a beautiful truth and the one that I cling to when labels get thrown around in life. No matter how others might define or label who I am, I know that their opinion has no bearing on who and whose I truly am - I am a beloved daughter of the King and nothing on this earth could ever change that reality. God's love is bigger than this world and the lesser gods we allow to define us - His love and grace cover us and give us our ultimate identity. Praise the Lord for creating us in His likeness and seeing our true face through the chaos of our lives. Praise the Lord for creating an identity that is not based on labels or set roles, but on our place in His Kingdom as His beloved children!
Our society is inundated with labels, and I hate it.
Short, tall, skinny, fat, athlete, nerd, student, creeper, runner, feminist, racist, radical, environmentalist, hippy, hipster, friend, yogi, prude, over-achiever, under-achiever, mother, sister, grandchild, brother, father, the list could literally go on forever. And while not all labels are bad in and of themselves, they have a tendency to box us in to set "roles." I feel like they are one of the many reasons we have so many stereotypes and why we feel so much pressure to act in a certain way. Labels create an image of what we are "supposed" to look like and we develop these cookie-cutter versions of what people should look like and how they should act.
Think about it - from childhood we start to live into these preset identities and try to make ourselves what we feel like we are "expected" to be. As a little girl I loved playing house, being a mommy and pretending to cook and care for others. I liked girly things and naturally tried to avoid activities that seemed too risky or dangerous. I can't remember this being pushed on me by my parents or anyone else, it just seemed natural to me I guess.
Even as I have gotten older I feel like I have been placed into these molds and then I act how I think other people with that label should act. I was blessed to grow up going to church and being very active with my faith and I wouldn't trade this for the world. But I think much of my time spent in middle and high school was dedicated to being to good little church girl instead of pursuing what it looks like to be a disciple. This predisposition to fulfill this image took so much focus and energy away from pursuing the things that truly matter in life.
Life is not about labels; it is not about perfecting ourselves to be cookie-cutter versions of people. In reality, life is messy and imperfect; it is a work in progress that is yet to be complete. But the hope lies in the fact that there is beauty and joy in the process and in the creating. Our mistakes and slip-ups in life are how we learn some of life's most important lessons and how we become more of the people we were created to be. God has started a good work in us - He is like a potter at a wheel, constantly molding and reforming us in His likeness. Just like hardened pieces of clay, we sometimes resist His creative hand, but He does not abandon the good work He has started. God is at work within us through the entirety of our lives - He will never forsake or give up on us.
It is in Christ that we find our true and eternal identity - we are sons and daughters of a Holy God. He does not judge us based on our current condition but sees the beauty in our potential. He sees the beauty in the mess and loves us all the same. The love of God is not blind - it sees all things and deliberately chooses to love anyway. This is such a beautiful truth and the one that I cling to when labels get thrown around in life. No matter how others might define or label who I am, I know that their opinion has no bearing on who and whose I truly am - I am a beloved daughter of the King and nothing on this earth could ever change that reality. God's love is bigger than this world and the lesser gods we allow to define us - His love and grace cover us and give us our ultimate identity. Praise the Lord for creating us in His likeness and seeing our true face through the chaos of our lives. Praise the Lord for creating an identity that is not based on labels or set roles, but on our place in His Kingdom as His beloved children!
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