The Prisoners

Today's Unglued Blog

(Some of Chapter 3's Reflection)

 

 

Labels are awful! They imprision us in categories that are hard to escape. And there are many labels we tend to place on ourselves:

I am angry.

I am frustrated.

I am a screamer.

I am a stuffer.

I am a wreck.

I am a horrible mother.

I am a people pleaser.

I am a jerk.

I am insecure.

I am unglued.

And this list could go on and on.

 

Through the years, I have given myself many labels, some of which are on that list & some are not. But there is one up there I used to let imprision me: I am a horrible mother. Any & EVERY time I felt like I had done something to fail as I mother, I would say that statement. Any & EVERY time Kayla pointed out how I did something differently than ANYONE else, I would say that statement. I said that statement almost as much as I told Kayla & Jamie: I love you (which is A LOT). I had truly let that thought imprision me & I truly believed that God had made a mistake by making me the mother of these two precious little girls....that someone, ANYONE could do a better at it than I could.

 

But Lysa points out in Chapter 3 something that I finally let sink in one night when Kayla BEGGED me (almost in tears) to stop saying I was a horrible mother. Labels only stick if I let them. The self-defeating labels we put on ourselves start out as little threads of self-dissatisfaction but ultimately weave together into a straightjacket of self-condemnation. Yep, that's DEFINITELY where I was with that label....I had COMPLETELY let it imprision me. You see, some prisons don't require bars to keep people locked inside. All it takes is their perception that they belong there. A soul who believes she can't leave....doesn't.

 

I thank God often for helping me see myself through Kayla's (& God's) eyes....as the mother He had picked for Kayla & Jamie. There may be things I do differently than other people, but it's how we get it done.

 

Are there labels you have placed on yourself that imprison you? Start praying for God to help you release & free yourself....you will be BEYOND thankful you did! I know I am.