I know we just met but I have to tell you something about myself. I hate labels. Hate is a strong word, but that’s how I feel about them. To be more clear, I can’t stand that labels so often constrain and cause confusion. There are few things that make my insides turn more tumultuously than when one of my favorite human beings looks me in the eyes and says something like, “I would do that, but I’m not smart.” or “I’d love to take that opportunity but I’m so bad at talking to people.” Phrases like that make me want to grab them by the shoulders, shake them, and cry out, “Don’t you see how incredible you are? Don’t you see that you are so much more capable than you realize? If only you could see yourself through my eyes!” However, it’s at that point when I make a mistake. I begin to give my friends some new labels. “You’re so strong! You are independent and amazing and confident and awesome and pretty and cool and you can be anything you want to be!” While it is imperative to encourage one another and speak life into a discouraged soul, true healing and change cannot take place when a negative label is simply covered up with a positive one. I’ve done that to myself on countless occasions. Ever since I was a wee girl, I have loved winning. I strive to do well and I will push my mind and body to the limit to do so. I love when this trait helps me to succeed but when I start to get too caught up in work, become controlling, or lose sight of what’s important because I’m so obsessed with my personal success- I often tell myself, “Well I’m competitive! What can I say?” Whether it’s a label I use as an excuse not to do something or a sugar-coated description of myself that helps me to cover up my negative behaviors, I often allow labels to dictate the way I live. And oh, how exhausting it is. Alex and Brett Harris put it this way in their book, Do Hard Things: “…we don’t want to do things that don’t come easily or naturally. We don’t want to break through our fears. And by our actions, we’re also saying that God isn’t good and powerful enough to help us do what we can’t comfortably do on our own.” When we allow ourselves to be constrained by labels, we are focusing on the wrong things. However, there is a much better way of life and it begins when we stop living based on the things that describe us and focus on the One who defines us. Humans are imperfect. Therefore we will never run out of excuses and labels to hide behind that will allow us to live in a manner we are comfortable with. But those of us who call ourselves Christians are not called to a life of mediocrity. We cannot shy away from hard things or incredible opportunities because of the box labels place us in. The times in my life that I have grown the most, felt the most fulfilled, and been the most confident, have been the times when I have focused on my all-powerful God. Not my strong points. Not my insecurities. Not the labels that often constrain me. But solely the God who created me, loves me, and gives me my true identity. So. I may be a young, 5-foot-something college freshman in a world that tries to tell me who I am with a mind that likes to hide behind labels. But I know Who defines me. And just as He was with David when he fought Goliath, Esther when she risked death to save her people, and Paul when he shared the gospel in cultures drastically different than his, He is with me and He is with you. The same spirit of God who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you (Romans 8:11) and He is so much more powerful than anything else that tries to define you. Let us together break through the constraints of labels and live courageously in pursuit of our Savior. Because that. That is when transformation begins. ~ash