Changing Perceptions

    My truest identity is not in what I do, how others see me, or even how I view myself; my truest identity is founded in what the Lord says about me. We need to understand and grab ahold of this identity for ourselves and help others to see themselves as the Lord sees them.

    I have been thinking a lot about identity after my visit from Zamir, one of my Sunday school loves (Zamir pictured above left).
     Zamir stopped by my house yesterday afternoon. The first thing Zamir said to me as he entered the house was, "I just came to bother you a minute." "No," I responded. "You came to VISIT me; visit is a much better word because you aren't bothering me at all. I like it when you come to see me."  And it's true. I really enjoy Zamir. He's hilarious, considerate, and extremely intelligent. The two of us sat on one of the tables in my living room talking and laughing. He talked to me being president of his class, things he is learning in school, his desire to study and his dreams for the future. I shared with him more about my childhood and family. I showed him some photos of my family back in the States. We laughed a lot in the course of our conversation. Like I said, I just sincerely enjoy this kid.

    And yet, during the 30 minutes that we hung out, Zamir apologized for bothering me at least four times. There is something in his young heart that tells him that he is an annoyance, that his mere presence is bothersome.
    I've mentioned in a previous blog post, (read: A Momma's Heart) it constantly breaks my heart to see the way that families here refer to children as necios (bothersome) or mal creados (badly created). I don't think many families realize how much their words shape their children's perceptions of themselves and their worth.
     Zamir is most certainly hyperactive. I don't think that I've ever seen him sit still for more than two minutes. He is also very talkative. Because of these personality traits, I often hear Zamir characterized as necio. I've heard it here in our community. I've heard it in his school. In fact the one day that I arrived at Zamir's school he was seated outside apart from the rest of his class (pictured right) because his constant talking was a distraction to the rest of the students. As I realized that I most often hear Zamir referred to as necio, I can only imagine how many times he has heard this term in regards to himself. Enough times that somewhere along the way, his heart began to identify with it. Now it has become how he sees himself. This identity affects his interactions with the people around him.

     We must realize that our words carry the power of life and death (see Proverbs 18:21a)! We need to claim our own identity as beloved children of God and allow our words and actions to speak this identity over others as well. With our words and our love, we can help others (like Zamir) to change their perceptions of themselves. However, you cannot give something away that you do not possess yourself. We must allow the beautiful, unconditional love of God to fill our own hearts and provide us with our true, secure identity in Him. Then we can begin to speak that same unconditional love and worth over others.