After months away, I went back to visit my dentist this week. As a matter of fact, it’s been so long in between visits that I had to fill out a new contact information form. Do you know what I mean? It’s that long form requesting all of your history past and present—from where you live to what kind of medications you are taking. Anyway, the receptionist handed me this sheet of paper and as I sat down to look it over, I noticed a big red sticker on the bottom of the form. 

Written on this sticker were two words that I so wanted to forget, because in my mind, they no longer represent who I am. The words were written in big, bold black letters. These words caused my heart to sink momentarily. RHEUMATIC FEVER / EPILEPSY

As I looked at these words, my mind screamed, “NO! I don’t have these things anymore! God healed me from both of these afflictions! Why am I still dogged by the stigma of these two words?" I had rheumatic fever when I was six years old for goodness sake—brain surgery in 1999 and completely seizure free since!

Then, I remembered being called the ‘child that was so sick’ by my mom when she was talking to a friend or associate that she hadn’t see in awhile. Those words, sick and rheumatic fever so cleverly defined who I was for the first nearly twenty years of my life. Then, just when I’m  outgrowing some of that stigma, Epilepsy creeps into my life at age eighteen. The next 20 years this affliction would define who I was—at least in my mind, and unfortunately that can be quite narrow.

Nowadays though, I praise the Lord for moving me forward and on to knowing and believing in who I am through Christ. I no longer feel like I am a victim to the past but a messenger for the future—a future that calls me to be and to act like the dearly loved child of God that I am.

Oh yeah, it’s easy to let circumstances in our lives temporarily define who we are. But, the truth is, that is the enemy’s device—a tool to keep us up right where he wants us to be, defeated and detrimental to society. That’s what he wants us to think of ourselves. Thank goodness, we serve a God who is bigger than all of our issues. He created us to know Him, to love Him and to do great things for Him. Don’t get side-tracked by the things the world throws at you... And Always Remember, “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10