Identity?

In the campaign, we are also hosting events in our meeting room every Saturday afternoon. Along with going on campus to talk with the girls, we are inviting them to a time to hear about their value as women, what is true beauty, what a perfect God thinks about them, who Jesus really is, and so much more. Last week, our first talk was about our identity and value as girls, given by our national director's wife, Leticia Bloise. She asked us to think about the labels that we've been given from our families, friends, teachers, and the many people that have influenced us in our lives. Sharing how these affect the perception of ourselves, she asked us to share in pairs some of our answers. I was partnered up with a friend of Erika's from class, Ana. After I shared a few of mine, she was very quick to speak up, and with a stern, "No, nothing that anyone has ever said affects me, I don't let it affect me," the conversation came to a halt. I saw right through it.

In talking to and interacting with so many girls now on campus, it gets easier to read through a persons words to their thoughts or see through their defenses. I could see right through this girl. It was almost like a calling out for love. She had obviously been affected with the things that people have conditioned her to believe about herself. I didn't push past her answer because she wasn't budging. I started praying. Then Leticia brought us back together to share some of our answers. My partner shared the same thing with the group. That nothing that anyone says affects her. Leticia was able to share with this girl some personal vulnerable stories of how the labels had affected her and how she had replaced those lies with the truth of Jesus. After the talk was over, Ana began to tear down her defenses and share that in reality everything affected her and that she was holding so much in. We got to see the Lord soften her heart. It was an experience for our student leaders to be involved in as well. They were encouraged by the way the Lord is working through the campaign to touch the lives of students.