Lizzie's Lesson

Carl Jung once said, “The world will ask you who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you.”  I read this article today about a woman who decided that she was going to define herself, rather than letting others define her.  Her name is Lizzie Velasquez, and she suffers from a rare syndrome which keeps her from gaining weight and has caused her to be blind in her right eye.  When she was in high school, she discovered a video of herself on YouTube that was titled, “World’s Ugliest Woman.”  It had 1 million views.

Lizzie decided that instead of letting these cyberbullies define her, that she would define herself.  She took the hatred and negativity that was being channeled toward her, and let it fuel her resolve.  She has become a motivational speaker, and last month spoke at the TEDX in Austin.

But aren’t people still rude to her?  Yes.  When they are, she asks them to stand on her right side (she is blind in her right eye). 

Whom will we allow to define us?  What if we defined ourselves in terms of how God sees us?  I think this was Christian singer Matthew West’s point in his song, “Hello My Name Is: Child of the One True King.”  If you haven’t watched the video lately, take a peek here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZuJWQzjfU3o

I love the message of this song, and applaud the courage of Lizzie Velasquez.  May her tribe increase!  If you want to read her whole story and hear a bit of her TEDX talk, go here:  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/07/lizzie-velasquez_n_4550829.html?1389284064&icid=maing-grid7%7Chtmlws-main-bb%7Cdl15%7Csec1_lnk3%26pLid%3D428444