Labels suck.
Sometimes I won't listen to a band because I was told they werent worth listening to for reasons such as bad production, unoriginal lyrics, poor musicianship, and even if the lead vocalist's voice is annoying. And to be honest, sometimes I listen to an artist because I've heard great things about them or they are on the top hits of a good music site. Sometimes I'll go to a movie because I heard it's the best thing ever… Only to be disappointed because I believed what I heard and had it played up in my mind.
One of my favorite things to do is to listen to an artist or watch a movie without hearing anything about it. I love going with an open mind and all the surprises that comes with it. I find my favorite artists and movies through the unknown discovery.
There was this girl in my 3rd grade class who peed her pants. She stopped going to my school by the time she hit highschool, but she was always known as 'The girl who peed her pants in P.E.' The title stuck with her. That one act put a label that shadowed her other actions and her character in some of the minds of Miss McGuire's class.
I wonder why we label things. Maybe it's easy, helps wrap our minds around things, gives us a little control, or helps put things in a box. We label everything- things, places, people, behaviors, seasons, etc… I believe we also label ourselves.
Labels have the power to persuade.
We label things that are cautious.
We label things well what we want to promote.
We label things negatively the things that we are against.
And we also label things that of what we desire others, and maybe ourselves, to see it as.
Labels can limit.
Labels can cast shadows on the truth. I heard Christine Caine once say, "The more mild the label, the more potent the substance."
I came to Ukraine with so many labels about the people here. I thought about how they are recently out of Communism and the mindset towards working and living is, how the church has its roots in Eastern Orthodox theology and what differs with my belief, and how the people are cold, harsh, unwelcoming, and a possibly disgust for Westerners.
Since being here, I have come to find I was very wrong.I based my label on hearsay and on the few Ukrainians I met. I categorized all Ukrainians under a small label. People here in Rivne have been so welcoming and hospitable. People smile, offer assistance, initiate conversation, and insist we cut them in the train station toilet line.
They see life as more as a blossom booming rather than a means to survive.
There is hope. There is beauty. And the people see and find the beauty.
Here are a few things I find beautiful in Ukraine so far:
I've been served tea multiple times a day here. They serve tea with ornate cups as we share about our lives.
They have their own gardens with fresh fruit, veggies, and herbs. They toil the ground with their own hands.
The churches here have real gold on their domes. The design is unique and intricate.
Instead of a statue of a war hero, they have a statue of a poet. They honor a man that was known for the beautiful art of words.
Maybe it's the area we are at, but nonetheless the stereotype doesn't cover every person.
And there is a lot of need here…A lot. There Is hurt, broken, abandoned, forgotten, lost, and desperate people. But I know the hope of Christ and His light is greater than any darkness.
And the people of the Church here are all the more hopeful, joyful, and loving with Christ's love.
There is a lady here who takes in teenagers who are too old for an orphanage. Others have labeled them unwanted, unchangeable, and too hard. But she sees them, and therefore treats them, differently.
The children in the orphanage can be placed in the 'orphan' label. Or we can see her as Vika.
*This is Vika, one of the girls at the orphanage. Vika can say in English, "What is your name?", and "My name is Vika." We had this conversation about 30 times yesterday.
I don't want to limit any person or put them in a box.
I want to walk into every conversation with an open, label-less heart about the other person.
The times I have it has been such a sweet, sweet blessing.
"Life is in the truth: the declarations that God speaks over us." My momma
