Who are you?

Dec 3

I’ve been challenged recently in how I talk about certain things. It’s been the good kind of challenge that stretches the way you think. I’ve been mulling over the feedback they gave me for a while now.

There is a reality that we do not control our own lives. If you think you are in control of your life, let me know how it’s going in a year. While we don’t control our lives, however, we are not victims to them. This isn’t to be dismissive of the things that are occurring in your life, but it is a hard call-out that you have control over how you choose to react and who you want to be.

The way we speak about things holds deep power for how we truly view them. Our words reflect and influence our thoughts.

If you want to change how you think about something, change how you talk about it.

There are experiences I have had in life where I validly could consider myself a “victim”. That isn’t who I am. How empty would life be if who I was was a victim?

I am resilient.

I am brave.

I am strong.

None of those on my own, but all because God has created me intentionally to be and sustained me through.

The things that have happened to you don’t get to define you. They don’t have the power to dictate how you live. Sure, they are important to understand, because ignorance and lack of self-awareness will leave you a slave to your past, but they don’t win over who you are.

If I’m honest, I thought I did a pretty good job with this mindset until recently someone caught something I was saying and gently pointed out that I was still speaking harshly towards myself. I was limiting who I viewed myself as because of messages I had believed in the past.

You don’t get to control your life, but you do get to control who you choose to be. You make the choices for what things you want to define you. You make the choices for how you will respond to what you have experienced and how you will use that.

For me, this blog is a small step towards using the experiences I have had to bring God glory. I feel passionate about the fact that my life shows His goodness, and I want to be bold in declaring that. The fact that I came out on the other side of certain things makes me want to shout about the power of God.