Woogie

My son Jeremiah knows his name. He is going through this phase where he only wants to be called, Jeremiah, or as he says, Weramiah. I say to him, " Hi baby!" and he says, No, Weramiah. I call him a woogie woogie, when he's doing something sneaky and he says, No, woogie, woogie...Weramiah. Somtimes, he agrees with me, that he's still my baby,and other times, he's just Weramiah.

I think it's so cute that he is taking ownership of his name. He's too young to take ownership of being a woogie, woogie, but he knows that he's acting out, when I tell him he's being a woogie, he even gets mad sometimes, and other times, he thinks it's funny.

I'm into thinking a little deeper these days. And, I think pretty much every moment of the day, we have an opportunity to grow a little more, learn a little more, change a little more. I started thinking about my name, or the names I have allowed myself to be called. When someone, or myself calls me by a name other than my own, I don't usually respond and say, No. My name is Charissa.

Too many times, I have answered to a name that didn't speak truth about me, or it spoke truth but only in a way to condemn me. We all have struggles, we all have to take ownership of the truth about ourselves, even when it doesn't feel good. I guess the difference is, there's truth about ourselves, that when revealed, can bring humility, repentance and growth, and there's truth's that are meant just to destroy us, because they are mixed with lies, but we don't know the difference. This is when we need to know our name, this is when we need to say, No, woogie woogie, my name is Charisssa! My name is forgiven, my name is overcomer, my name is...this is where we need the confidence of a two year old.

I am more aware of lies, lies from the world, the devil, myself, and others than I ever have been. It's so easy to slip into old identity's, ones that we have given up, or thrown away, or asked God to deal and heal. What do I really know about myself? Do I know enough to have a come back like my two year old son, and say who I am? When the urge to pretend I have control, comes in the form eating junk food, can I call myself a woogie, woogie and eat anyway, or can I say, " Charissa you are not on overeater anymore," don't give in to the false sense of control. When I hurt someone and they confront me, can I take ownership and apologize, knowing that my mistake doesn't define me, but how I respond will definetely leave an impact.

I'm just thinking about how we change and how easy it is to be labled even when the contents have changed. Have you ever had a nice jar full of jam or peanut butter, and when the jar was empty you washed it out and filled it with something else, but the label of what used to be in there was still on the outside? I think that's how life is, we are constantly changing, we get makeovers and new things spring up inside, old wounds are healed and sometimes new ones take their place.

However, the label that says " jam" or "peanut butter" is still on the outside, even though the contents have changed. And it takes a keen eye, and an opening of self for other's to see that what you see is not what you get. Often times, we want people to just automatically notice our change, but if you see a jar in the cupboard with a peanut butter label, unless you open the jar and look inside, you will never know it's not peanut butter.

I know it's important to be open, and share ourlives with one another. In this way, we can share our stories of transformation, growth, deliverance, healing. We can share laughter, hope and love, but only if we open up and recongize our name, and take ownership of our wooginess.