February is Black History Month! We are excited to hear from Beverly Headen and be encouraged about our identity in Christ.
Identity Theft
Everyday someone or something in our culture is attempting to steal our true identity.
I grew up in rural North Carolina, the eldest of three girls, raised by a single mom.
Looking back, my childhood was kind of idyllic in that my first memory was of love and acceptance from the most important person in my life at that time, my mom.
But as I explored the world outside our small wood-framed house, I encountered the opinions and perceptions of others about who I was supposed to be. The joy of my childhood started a slow slide into the despair of feeling never quite good enough.
First, I discovered that by United States economic standards, I and my family were considered poor. Financially challenged and low-income, my mother worked two jobs as a young woman. Amazingly, I never felt the pinch of lack, but from a worldly perspective being low-income was strike one.
Second, I discovered I was not considered “pretty” like the girls in fairy tales or my baby dolls, or even in my own culture. I had dark skin, was overweight, and had acne! I simply could not be recommended on the basis of worldly beauty; however, as my dear grandmother once told me in most tender terms, “you have pretty hands and feet.” Not much consolation to a pre-teenJ: strike two.
Third, as a sixth grade girl I attended the first integrated school in my small rural town. There I discovered, through the pain and sting of racism and bullying, that I was hated by some people. I wasn’t prepared for the treatment and the words others used to “name” me. Growing up African-American in the Jim Crow South: strike three.
The truth is, the labels the world uses to name us, and even the labels we get from our families can be powerful and harmful. These labels shape us, guide us, and ultimately identify us. They cling to us as imperceptibly as dead skin. The writer E.E. Cummings said,
“We do not believe in ourselves until someone reveals that deep inside us something is valuable….”
For me, my life in Christ is my identity now. All other labels have fallen away. I cling in faith day-by-day to the truth of who God created me to be as found in His revealed Word.
“We are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)
Beverly Headen is a North Carolina native. She will complete a Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC, in May 2014. She is a Staff Counselor at Bridgehaven Counseling Associates in Raleigh, NC, specializing in grief and loss, healing from trauma, identity, contentment, and life transitions. Beverly also works as a Pastoral Counselor to girls and women with crisis pregnancies at Christian Life Home. Beverly is single and enjoys living in close proximity to extended family and good friends. She loves learning, the everyday beauty found in nature, journaling, great coffee, and time with family.
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