He Calls Her Daughter

From the beginning of our lives we all have had labels placed on us. The first labels I remember in my own life are “shy” and “bashful”.  I don’t know why lol . . .  just because when I was 3, I hid under my mom’s skirt when the neighbor kids came running over to play.  (Ha ha!)  I remember that vividly because I remember the fear of feeling that I was being charged at, and I ran!  I also remember that every time we went anywhere, I wanted to hurry back home.  I realized from an early age that I was different from the other kids I knew, and in my little mind the difference was not a good thing.  It didn’t get any better after I started school.  My first teacher liked to yell.  I think I cried almost every day of first grade and wished to not have to go to school.  Unfortunately that longing never really went away throughout all of my school years.  As I got older, the labels expanded to “backward”, “weird”, “unsocial”, “standoffish”, and even “hateful”.  Some of these labels may or may not be deserved but this I know for sure – they all stem from my own awkwardness. 

Not too long ago I ran across an article entitled, “Ways Introverts Interact Differently with the World”.  The article described me perfectly.  Well halleluiah!  Amazingly, for the first time, I learned there are reasons why I am the way I am.  Not only that, but there are others like me out there.

What I learned from the article and a few more since then is that introverts and extroverts respond differently to their environments.   A scene that overstimulates the central nervous system (which doesn’t take much) might cause introverts to feel overwhelmed; while extroverts crave that stimulation.  Unfortunately for introverts, most social environments are geared toward extroverts.  I also learned there is no such thing as a pure introvert or a pure extrovert, but there are times I think I am almost a pure introvert. 

I dug into God’s word for further answers and what I was reminded of is something that I knew in my head but it had never seeped into my heart.  I’m positive God led me to the articles on introverts to guide me in the direction and at the time I needed it most.  What finally made it to my heart is that God is the Master Designer.   He designed my personality, looks, likes and dislikes, talents, and everything else about me to be unique, even right down to my fingerprints.  I am an introvert because I was created to be introvert.  I am the way I am on purpose.  (SO ARE YOU!)  To not be happy with what God created is to say that He did not do a good enough job.  That’s arrogant, don’t you think?

The label of “shy” became a brand on my life and a scar on my heart.  When someone said, “Oh, she’s just shy”, what I heard was, “Oh, she’s got a problem”.   It didn’t help that I was left out of a lot of activities because I was so uncomfortable with attention and group settings that I was simply no fun.  No matter how hard I tried, I was only comfortable in one-on-one or small group settings.  No one ever meant to place a negative label on me; but even simple, unintentional labels seem to take on lives of their own.  The more I was called shy, the shyer I became.  Shyness escalated into fear; fear of more judgment and more rejection, which then came across to others as “weird”.   

 

 A lot of introverted people seem to function just fine in society.  Of course they function differently than extroverted people and that’s the way it’s supposed to be.  It doesn’t equal weakness.  Our society is flawed in its thinking of introverted people as less than, and the term “weird” is used way too loosely in our society.

As for me, I am learning to block out the labels that flutter around in my head and try to be conscious of not putting labels on others.  I lean on the words of the One who created me.  I have faith that He knew exactly what He was doing.  I am sensitive; I care about things deeply; I would rather not be the center of attention unless God ordains it; I need the peacefulness of home; my skin is thin; and I am not weak.  God designed me; I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and I am His daughter.  THE SAME GOES FOR YOU! 

Ponder on this --

“And, I will be a Father to you, and you will be my daughters”.  2 Corinthians 6:8 

By calling us daughters, God is saying not only who we are but whose we are.  We should be so incredibly thankful that our Father put such love into creating us, and that thankful heart should give us confidence in ourselves no matter what anyone else says because God believes . . . His creation, which is me, and you, is very good!