I Choose Today to Drop the Labels Episode 6 – The I Choose Today Series

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Have you ever carried a label that someone else gave you? One that stuck to your heart and became part of how you saw yourself?

Maybe it was a word spoken in anger, or a judgment passed down that made its way into your identity. Sometimes, the labels aren’t even names people call us—they’re words we use to summarize our own pain. “Lazy.” “Too emotional.” “Not enough.”

I’ve carried some of those labels, too. And for a long time, one of the most painful was the word “stupid.”

That label was spoken over me when I was young, and it shaped how I walked into school, how I viewed challenges, and how I saw myself in the world. I was placed in a “remedial” group because I didn’t learn the way others did, and the system didn’t know what to do with that. Instead of getting the help I needed, I was just passed along—and the label followed me from grade to grade.

By the time I reached high school, I wasn’t reading above a fifth-grade level. I didn’t understand grammar or composition. And even though something deep inside me whispered, “That’s not who you are,” I still wondered if maybe the label was right.

After barely graduating, I went to college and hit a wall almost immediately. I remember sitting in the library surrounded by students who seemed to know exactly what to do, and I had no idea where to begin. And again, the old label dug in: Stupid. Remedial.

But God.

Years later, my daughter—four years old at the time—told me I could teach her better than her preschool teachers could. I laughed it off, believing I had nothing to offer her educationally. But God began stirring something in my heart. Through prayer, I felt Him say, “Step out and I’ll meet you there.”

So I did. I began homeschooling her. I sought out tools and advice and curriculum—and in the process of teaching her to read using phonics, I ended up learning to read myself. Phonics was the key I had been missing all along. It was like God took that old, painful label and flipped it on its head.

Now? I love to learn. I love to read. I study constantly. The girl who once believed she was too “stupid” to teach now teaches others—because God rewrote the label.

I’m reminded of Gideon in Judges 6. He was hiding in fear when God called him something outrageous: “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.” Gideon’s immediate response was basically, “You’ve got the wrong guy. I’m the least in my family. My clan is the weakest.” But God didn’t speak to Gideon’s fear—He spoke to his identity. His destiny.

God does the same with us.

He doesn’t just remove the labels—we’re not simply blank slates. He rewrites them with redemption. He uses the very places we’ve been wounded to write stories of healing, strength, and purpose.

And while we’re talking about labels, I want to gently remind us all: we don’t just carry labels—we give them, too. Sometimes unintentionally. Sometimes out of frustration. But our words have weight. So today, let’s choose to only speak labels over others that lift, encourage, and affirm.

Let’s leave most of the labeling to food and clothing.

Because in God’s eyes? You’re not too broken, too behind, or too far gone.

You are His.

And that, sweet friend, is the only label that matters.

If this message resonated with you, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Leave a comment, share it with someone who might need it, or spend some time with God asking Him to reveal the labels He never meant for you to carry. Let’s keep choosing truth—one day at a time.