Suzie Says: What's in a Name?

I'm a wimp, she said.

I had met with a handful of women across state lines who were going through my book, The Mom I Want to Be.

These were moms who had been hit with a lot of disappointments. Men who abandoned them after saying all the right words. Children who were the light of their life, but also challenged them. Poverty. Past addictions and the consequences that followed them years after making a hard right turn.

I prayed for them before leaving my home. I had names in front of me. No faces. Only a smattering of details, like how many children, or what they did for a living.

When I read this woman's name a strong phrase came to mind: strong woman of faith.

I prayed for that woman of faith, embracing the image God had placed in my heart.

I thought of those words as she said it again, "I'm a wimp."

She had been a crack addict four years later.

How does a wimp overcome an addiction to crack?

She was a mother to two, but really she was a mother to many more. As she shared her story I saw a long list of people who trusted her, who leaned on her, who looked to her for inspiration.

How can a wimp inspire so many?

She had been abused physically and verbally. She had been knocked down, and the men in her life had never seen her true beauty.

"I love Jesus. I trust in Him. I know when I fail I can turn to Him and He will forgive me," she said, with tears.

How can wimp be so strong, and so wise?

After hearing her story, I had to ask her one favor. "Could you replace that word?" I asked. I told her how God had placed such a strong image when I prayed for her, how He saw her in a very different light than she saw herself.

She was silent for a moment.

"Strong woman of faith," she whispered.

"That's you", I said.

"That's me," she replied.

There's power in our words, in the way we see ourselves. My prayer is that we see ourselves the way God does.

What words do you need to change as you see yourself in a whole new way?

Suzie Eller is the host of Christian Momlogic. A Proverbs 31 Ministries (http://proverbs31.org) she is an author and columnist, and has been featured on radio and national media on issues of faith and family.