Your ___________ does not define you.

Happy Thing of the Day: NOT the epic wind that is happening outside, that's for sure. (but portable mini heaters? DEFINITELY!)

I recently watched an interview done of Elizabeth Smart about the book she wrote.  She started going into detail about the things that happened to her during her kidnapping.  But then she started talking about moving on, that she was not just the girl that was kidnapped when she was 14.  She was more than that...like she wasn't going to let her kidnapping define who she was.

You hear people say this to survivors of various traumas all the time "you are not your disease" or "don't let your abuse define you", even a general one as simple as "don't let this define who you will become".  So many people identify themselves by one specific thing, but why?

Recently, I've seen this more with "causes" than anything.  People identify as being a "pro-life advocate" or a "gay-rights advocate", and so on and so forth.  There are many "causes" out there for people to support and advocate for, but why does that have to define you?  Why can't these things just be an important part of your life?  For example, I know a few people who support gay rights that will NOT, under any circumstance, befriend (or stay friends) with someone who does not agree with them 100%.  And you think people who don't support your cause are narrow minded?

Religion is another huge one.  People base their entire lives on what they believe.  Should it, or can it, mold you? Can it be the foundation for your character? Of course.  Should it be the basis on which you view every single little thing?  Probably not.  There are so many other factors out there that should play into decisions and opinions.  For example, being "pro-life" to the point that you start to limit health care provided for women, you've taken your religious beliefs a little too far.  Honestly, isn't the most recent issue a little bit common sense? If you start making birth control more easily available, abortion rates will go down...it's just that easy.  Will they go away, no, but will it help, probably.

Let me be clear, I support many causes.  Some that as a "typical Christian" I probably wouldn't fit into very well (good thing there is nothing "typical" about me).  But to make a point, I'm going to start listing.

I Support:
TWLOHA
The Human Rights Campaign
Planned Parenthood
The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
(RED)
The Trevor Project
UNICEF
Habitat for Humanity

Just to name a few.  Really the list could go on for a while longer, but you get the idea.  I am not so focused on one cause that I forget that are so many important things to support.  I am not so narrow minded as to make any one of these be the defining power in my life.

So many things define me.  A while ago I wrote a post about knowing who you are.  You can read it here.  I always make a top 5 on things that define me.  Yes I'm a Christian, but don't make any assumptions on what kind of person I am.  Being a Christian doesn't mean I hate gay people.  Being a Christian doesn't mean that I am pro-life.  Being a Christian doesn't mean I only have Christian friends.  I am a Christian, but I am also SO much more than that.  I will not let Christian population, nor the non-Christian population, define who I am, what I should support, or who I can befriend.  These things are what create hate.  These are the reasons people judge, and discriminate.  Do not be so focused that you fester stereotypes.  They are awful and demeaning.  Nothing needs to consume you to the point of cutting people out of your life for any reason other than that they physically or emotionally harm you.

Don't let your cause, your identifiers, your skin color, your religion don't let any one thing define who you are.  You are so much deeper than that.  Your soul is so vast it could not possibly be summed up in one specific thing.  Don't get caught up so far into anything that it changes who you befriend, who you love, or what you do.  Let it mold your character, of course, but don't let it put you in a box.  Don't be confined to the outline of anything but your own personal connect the dots.  No one should define you but you.