Soul Sustenance: Tailor Made

“I was labeled a mistake...”

From an early age Alex Seeley was told she was an accident, but she also carried the weight of feeling stupid. Labels like these, sometimes spoken over us by well-meaning people, can cause us to believe lies about ourselves that make us question why we were born and what our purpose on earth could be. Yet, according to Psalm 139, God designed us in His image with a unique DNA and amazing characteristics! We are loved and created for a purpose that only we can fulfill.

In TailorMade (available April 24^th), Alex helps us recognize our wrong thinking often brought on by generational patterns, insecurities, circumstances, lack of forgiveness, and an inaccurate view of God our Father, and offers to replace them with a new view of who God says we are our personal destiny. It’s time to find your own sense of belonging and the path to becoming the original, authentic version of you that God intended!

I had a chance to interview Alex to learn more.

Why is it so easy for negative labels to get stuck?

I think it’s because we don’t know who we truly are in Christ and our default is always to believe the negative over the positive. So if someone says something about us we tend to believe it, if we don’t know the truth about who we are. Because of the fall our humanity is left open to believe the worst about ourselves and it is imperative that we renew our mind with the word of God in who God says we are.

What are some of the common sources of labels?

Most negative labels come through our parents, teachers, leaders and peers. Even though they are sometimes said as a throw away comment - these labels tend to stick. It’s amazing that you can be told so many good things and then we will listen and believe the one negative label that gets thrown out over us.

How can parents and those who care for others help reduce negative labeling of children?

As parents we need to be careful with our words because children take their parents literally and they don’t understand and exaggerated comment or a joke. So when we say statements like “How could you be so stupid” or “You can’t do anything right” or “you silly goose” or “you clumsy little thing” “don’t make me smack you” or “you are so annoying” even in a joke causes much pain. Think before you speak and ask yourself, if someone said this to you how would it make you feel? Don’t react in the moment. Leave the room and take a few deep breaths and walk back in and then deal with the behavior in a calm and healthy way.

If someone has lived with negative labels their whole life, how can they overcome them as an adult?

The only way to remove the negative labels that have been spoken over your life is to replace the negative with the positive and reinforce those positive words until they become your new normal and also if you are a person of faith you need to ask Jesus to help remove those labels and ask to speak kind words over you through the word of God. There are many words that we can apply to our lives that change us from the inside out.