Something happens when we speak our insecurities and vulnerabilities out loud, for others to hear.
Maybe it isn't something magical, or initially life transforming, but the fact that it happens can be enough power for us.
I think about this all the time: what are the fears and insecurities of the person I am talking to or looking at right now? How much are they currently hurting? What should I say? What should I avoid saying?
This last week, thousands of new students moved into the residence halls at Western Washington University. Thousands of students ready for a new season of life, marked by independence from parental figures and the freedom to live life (honestly) any way they desire.
But for me, all I see are thousands of human beings new to the new college thing, new to living on their own and navigating the uncertainties of life and dealing with all of those insecurities and vulnerabilities.
In my experience, insecurities and vulnerabilities tend to not just be the wind in my sail as I travel into new situations, but are often the map that tells me the coordinates to go to.
I'm pretty confident that most of these new students are finding that, too. They gravitate slowly back to what seems safe, familiar, towards the path of least resistance, the path that won't tough at the insecurities or fears or unknowns. So many freshmen come in with the "new school, new year, new me" mindset, but how many changes that are made are actually below the surface? You didn't go to a party in high school and you just went to your first one the other night at a house off campus? I have to be honest: even after that party, nothing has really changed for you, at least, nothing that will lead you to experience a true "new you."
In my opinion, we cannot create and fabricate our own idea of what the "new us" is. How can we find a truly new identity within ourselves if it is coming from the old us? If the old us is creating a new identity for ourselves, it will still remain just that, a part of the old.
The idea of creating a new identity, for me, always and logically starts with choosing to pursue God. In the book of the prophet Isaiah, the author writes a beautiful poem, describing the action of approaching God and pursuing Him to be an invitation to quench your thirst and hunger. God explains to "give ear and come to [Him]; listen, that you may live" (Isaiah 55:3, NIV).
Ultimately, all of us want life, that's why we strive to reinvent ourselves during these new seasons and try so hard to find "the new us." What we're saying is "the old life didn't work, it was wearing me down, wasn't satisfying, it left me hungry and thirsty for something more: now, I want to try to find a new identity, some existence that will bring me life, and satisfy me fully."
This is God crying out to you as He asks why you "spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy?" (Isaiah 55:2, NIV).
If you want to confront these insecurities, these vulnerabilities, and don't want them to carry over into your time in college, if you want to seek an identity and existence that truly satisfies and brings life, God is ready and calling for you.