I told myself that my life’s story was not important. In comparison to other life stories, mine was not a page-turner. Mine was just a simple story of a petite, quiet, unnoticed person, trying to live in a world that does not embrace quietness.
People talked over me, finished thoughts for me, jumped in quicker than I could, and pressured me to replace quiet thoughts with activity.
So, I learned how to shrink to let others define me.
“You should be this way, not that way.”
“You didn’t mean that.”
“You shouldn’t feel that way.”
“You are this.”
Inside I screamed (louder than I vocalized), “NO, I am NOT!”
“Yes, you are,” they said.
I lived defined by a pile of false labels. I felt trapped. Until a few years ago when my mentor handed me the key to my cage, invited me to unlock the door, and I began to peel away the labels.
To my surprise, I found a unique design buried underneath. Wow, this is amazing, I thought. So, I dug and brushed away the debris. Finally, now in the last season of my life, I live freely and fully as my Creator designed me.
You may have labels stuck on you that restrict you from thriving as God designed. I encourage you to peel them away to discover your beautiful, shining, unique design no matter your age. In addition, as a parent, grandparent, or caregiver, you can help those you love to discover their design.
Whether you are an introvert, extrovert, young, old, or somewhere in between, you are a gorgeous masterpiece designed, valued, and loved by God, the Creator...No longer other-defined, but Creator-designed.
Here are two examples of the dozen or so labels placed on me and the designs I found underneath to maybe give you a place to start.
The Old Label: "You are too sensitive."
The Design: God designed me to be sensitive.
There are a couple of kinds of sensitivity. One is putting myself in your situation and feeling what you feel. That’s the empathetic kind of sensitivity. God designed me to be sensitive in that way. He did not design me with most commonly understood kind, the “you-hurt-my-feelings-this-one-time-and-I’ll-never-talk-to-you-again” sensitivity.
Discover your design.
The Old Label: "You are an introvert."
The Design: God designed me as an introvert.
This was the last label I peeled off. It is no longer a bad label, a painful curse, something to be fixed or corrected. Why? Because it is not the common definition of introversion: shy, lonely, timid, selfish, lazy, too much, or too little of something. Rather, it is God’s design. Now I proudly wear His “introvert” label and embrace the strengths of quietness.
Discover your design.
Now I know how to serve in a way that comes from my heart and live to my Creator’s pattern. Things like...courageous empathy...bold quietness...bright kindness...are gifts that I am bursting to share. No more shrinking.
No longer other-defined, but Creator-designed.
Whether you are an introvert, extrovert, young, old, or somewhere in between, you are a gorgeous masterpiece designed, valued, and loved by God, the Creator.
Who do you know who needs encouragement?
"I will give thanks to You (my Creator), for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. You created my inmost being and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely. You love me with everlasting love. Nothing can separate me from You. Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well" (Excerpts from Psalm 139, Jeremiah 31, Romans 8).