Dim Sum and Faithنموونە

Learning to Name

Our beginning days have a more profound impact on our present adult selves than we know. We can look at whatever remains of a childhood memory, and at first glance, at least the way we remember it, it feels okay. “It wasn’t that bad,” we might say. “Look at me now.” But those beginning days play an important part in shaping our identity, and we know that unprocessed pain leaks out and impacts all of our relationships and the ways we show up in the world.

In the heart of Psalm 139 we are reminded again that we are all known and seen by God, and yet many of us struggle to have that deep sense of being known in the way God intends. To know how we are to think about ourselves, we must look first at how God sees us and meets each of us so intimately in our stories.

The more willing we are to engage in our story, the more we find that God wants to redeem and heal those parts of our lives that feel disconnected so that we can live from a place of wholeness rather than brokenness. How God made us—the shape of our eyes, the color of our skin, our excitement about certain things, the ways we bring light into the world, is not a mistake.

David points out in Psalm 139:13, “You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb” (NLT). In my Chinese mother’s womb, God formed me into a petite Chinese baby girl with black hair and dark eyes. In verse 14, David goes on to say, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”

But the enemy of our soul, shame, can keep us from doing the hard work in this growing-up-on-the-inside journey. Shame tells us that we aren’t worthy of the love we most long for. Shame seeks to infect our minds with thoughts that distort God’s story, and it offers another narrative. The antidote to shame is gently exposing it and letting God’s love woo us out of hiding.

One of the most important tasks in our spiritual formation journey is learning to name what is going on inside. Learning to articulate the heart’s movements is key to our growth journey.

As You Read the Scriptures:

What is God inviting you to name in your story?

Prayer:

Lord, would you help me identify the ways I have believed words that are not true of who I am? I want to grow to know who I am as your beloved child. I want to experience your love for me in deeper ways. Be with me here.

Was this Plan helpful? We adapted this Plan from Dim Sum and Faith: How Our Stories Form Our Souls by Jenn Suen Chen. For more information, visit: https://www.ivpress.com/dim-sum-and-faith