Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Lesson (Not) Learned The First Time....

I have the blog of an amazing lady on my 
sidebar.  Patsy Clairmont is one of those people
who always seems to say what you need to 
hear....and it is frustrating because she doesn't
even know me.  How in the world can she be
so right on ...all of the time???

Anyway, last week I saw she had written a new
post and I hesitated to go and read it.  I mean,
I just wasn't sure I was up to a challenge that day.
Remember, I think the woman is amazing in ministry.
I just didn't feel like learning anything that day.
But I clicked on THIS POST anyway.

Labels...those things that define us in our own mind.

Last night I made a horrible mistake.
We were at our friends home at Creekside Cottage
for Miss Emma's birthday party.
In the middle of a game of Taboo Chelsea was giving
the hints for a word.  The word was Teacher.
Her hint was "My Mom is"....and before she could
say the next word out of my mouth flew "FAT!"

Wow!

Was that telling, or what?

I am overweight.  
This is true.
But to define myself and label myself
so thoroughly that I didn't think all of the 
other things I am first...

Such as 
My Mom is fun.
My Mom is Kind.
My Mom is Loving.
Mom is a Teacher.
Mom is a Musician.
Mom is a Candlemaker.
Mom is a Child of God.

Nope!  My mind did not go there.
And I sit here so frustrated with the messages the world
sends about weight and body image. 
I know that our teen girls
are impacted by them all of the time.
I guess it is not just our girls that
are influenced by these messages.
I don't want to be a source of these
messages for my daughter.
However, I know I have played a
very key role in it.
This shone a bright spotlight on
that fact!!

So.....I thank Patsy for this important reminder
and I will pray and ponder how I might change 
this label I have placed upon myself.

What labels do you wear?

If you were to hear the statement....

___________(your name) is.......
What pops into your head?

You don't have to share...
if you don't want to....
just think about it.


10 comments:

Deanna Rabe - Creekside Cottage Blog said...

This is a struggle for me, the weight issue that is. Sigh...

Vee said...

Oh I want to put my arms around you and give you a hug. This sounds like exactly something I might have said in the same situation. It causes my friends and family a fair amount of pain. (My daughter is quite thin and I've often wondered how much my weight issues have played into that.)

Joyce said...

I probably would have said Joyce is a nut job:-) I hope that my friends would fill in the blanks saying I have a good sense of humor instead of a nut job:-) I fight with the word fat every AM when I fight with the zipper on my jeans. I need to put a positive spin on myself first thing every morning!

Chicken Wrangler said...

Interesting reading today - makes ya think a bit! Right now, the word to describe me is 'confused' - mainly about learning my job at work - too much going on for one person to handle!!!

PJ said...

PJ is CRAZY!!!

I hear it all the time...

PJ is also fat, there is no other way to phrase it and my friends call me out all the time for, what they say, is a destructive self preservation technique that includes making fun of myself before someone else gets the chance to.

Theresa said...

Precious:) I can think of some negative things to say about myself too but just choose NOT to! Love to you and big hugs!

Sherrie said...

Becky,

It is amazing the labels we give ourselves. I would probably be right there with you on my label.

I agree with you on the perception we give our daughters. It's really sad how obsessed we become with weight and looks.

Deanna said...

Thank you for posting this. I know how hard it must have been for you to put your true thoughts down for all to see but I sure do appreciate it.

There are too many "Deanna is..."
The main one is that "Deanna is overweight." And that is not even hardly true anymore since I have lost a lot of weight because I have Type 2 diabetes. No one has ever made me feel that way...just me, myself and I.

Deanna :D

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this. It is a eye opener. All I can think of is negative stuff right now.

JD/ Jill said...

(((((((Becky)))))))hugs for you, because you are such a sweet person (remember I met you in real life so I know that to be a fact) My words to fill in the blank would have been...Becky is (so sweet) So (welcoming) so (friendly) so (generous) so (thoughtful) so (beautiful)

I think my first thought about an answer for me would have been a negative one...My friends would probably fill in the blank Jill is
too negative (working on that)

Hope you have a great day, My blogging friend. So glad I can call you my fiend