We have this terrible habit of slapping labels on people, things, and experiences. We forget that everything and everyone was created by God and has the ability to give Him glory. Nothing is “bad” in and of itself. A pencil can be used to write a wonderful letter of apology or it can be used to poke your eye out in an unforgiving argument. Our goal in Shine TYC living is to glorify God in all that we are, in all that we do, with all that we have.
I’ve started taking Barre, an exercise class that combines yoga, pilates, and movements derived from ballet. It’s hard. Read my bio and you’ll see that I hate to exercise. That’s right. I hate it. I defined exercise as a necessary evil in my life, doing the absolute minimum. I labeled exercise onerous and time-consuming. My previous experiences with gyms and hot new exercise trends like Tae-bo, Hip Hop Abs, and Zumba gave me little hope for barre. Surprisingly, after six classes I love it and finally get why people exercise daily. I had to rip those labels out of my mind and approach exercise in a different way.
How often do we let our perception of things keep us from the good things God has for us? God wants to bless us in so many different ways but we allow the “label maker” in our heads to keep us from moving forward. The best friend of your life may be someone of a different race, but when you meet the person, he/she is covered with the labels you’ve made over the years. Perhaps you have never indulged in the amazing spa services at Canyon Ranch or ventured beyond the bright lights of The Strip so you’ve labeled Las Vegas, “sin city.” You’re missing out on a part of life because the label maker in your head slaps “bad” on things that God can certainly use for your good.
In fact, The Bible tells me in Romans 8:28 that God is working all things for our good. So the next time you approach a person, place, or experience before you label it “bad” try to label it “God” and find the good in it. That’s ShineTYC living!