Label Liability

There seems to be a label for everything these days: A.D.D., O.C.D., Anxiety Disorder, Bipolar Personality, and many other diagnoses for certain personality issues. Sometimes I wonder, though, if often times these "disorders" are just simply a manifestation of who we are created to be..our innermost selves exposed.

I come from a long line of O.C.D.ers. My great-grandmother, my grandmother, my mother and I all could be classified as O.C.D. if a psychologist were to have evaluated all of us. I could probably qualify as A.D.H.D. at times too! And let's face it. We all have bouts of forgetfulness, frustration, anxiety, over-reactive anger...all traits of the aforementioned disorder list!

I am aware that there are certainly folks who have a severe form of any of these disorders, so I'm not discounting that some levels of behavior can become destructive enough to require medical attention. However, I can't help but think that we are in a society that too quickly labels us negatively in an effort to shame us from being who we were created to be.

I always like to say that a little O.C.D. is a good thing!! I have a strong determination and drive to get the job done. I can’t remember ever not feeling that way. Sometimes during a project, I work past my exhaustion and into the wee hours of the night in an attempt at reaching the finish line. If I try to stop somewhere in the middle of it and go to bed, I lie awake most of that time rehearsing the details of the project over in my head to the point I could have already had it finished had I stayed up to begin with!

My husband is entirely opposite of me. He has no problem at all with stopping right in the middle of a project and turning on the t.v. and having a sandwich!! Can you believe he needs to eat when he works?!? Those fellow O.C.D.ers out there just whispered a sympathetic, "I know! What's wrong with him?!"

I used to find myself dreaming that with enough thought, I could be one of those "lunch in the middle of a project" types, but as I've gotten older, I have learned to embrace the traits God gave me and to make them work to my (and others') advantage!

I'm pretty sure my O.C.D. is a big advantage in my career as a hair stylist. Would you want a haircut by someone who loses interest halfway through and just wants to get the job done? Yeah, that's what I thought! My O.C.D. was helpful in running a household too. I was in my best element when I had my 3 boys all at home and was cooking, cleaning, running errands and working in my shop at a non-stop pace all day.

My husband, the laid back, never-gets-in-a-hurry man that he is, works in a people-oriented business that requires him to visit with customers and make a positive impression for his company. He truly enjoys just chatting and visiting with strangers (Isn't that weird?!). How would his customers feel if he shooed them out the door in 15 minutes because he had more pressing things to do? People love him because he is genuinely relaxed and enjoying the visit, a trait many of us O.C.D.ers struggle with doing because of our pending to-do list nagging at our brains.

Whether you see yourself as O.C.D. or something completely different, chances are others have already labeled you based on how they see you. That thought probably causes you to try and assess what your "disorder" can be labeled. We all have traits under one of those ugly names. But maybe our "disorders" are actually "orders"! Maybe our personalities were custom-ordered by God Himself!

Psalm 139:14 (NIV) "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Maybe He gave me the drive and determination I possess because He needs me to be a get-it-done and get-it-done-right worker for His Kingdom. Maybe He made my husband to be a seize-the-moment and stop-and-smell-the-roses type so that people feel drawn to him for calmness and support.

We still have to be careful to not just give in to our personalities completely and play the "that's just who I am" card. We are supposed to always be growing and maturing, and reining in our faults should be more natural for us as we mature and practice using self control. Any of our quirks and faults are at risk of becoming a stronghold in our lives that Satan looks to use against us. The bible says Satan seeks to steal, kill and destroy (1Peter 5:8), and he will certainly try to take what God meant for good for you and use it to destroy you!

Romans 7:21-23  (NIV)

"So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me."

I am determined to not allow my O.C.D. tendencies to control my life. I choose not to seek perfection in my home because I prefer that people feel comfortable over being impressed at how perfect my house looks. I choose to serve the turkey that fell apart when it came out of the oven because it was so tender, instead of having a breakdown because it looks less than picture-perfect.  I choose to wear the shirt that has a small stain on the sleeve because the truth is, no one will even notice it but me! All of these things may sound frivolous to some, but to the O.C.D.er, these are all causes for frustration and irritation! But notice I said "I choose" not to give in to those thoughts. Giving in to them is exactly what the enemy tempts us to do! Instead of affording him that privilege, I choose to use my active mind to plan, work and complete things that matter and reject things that negatively control my life. I am organized, reliable and efficient and can get a lot done in a short time. That's what God intended for me when He made me this way, and he never intended for those traits to make me and everyone around me miserable. He special-ordered me..and you..just the way He chose. Now it's up to us to be a good steward of those gifts. He has a plan for you and he equipped you to serve for His glory!