Imitation of Life

My favorite movie is “Imitation of Life.”  If you’ve never seen it, you should check it out.  Although it’s my favorite movie, I haven’t watched it often.  I know people that watch the same movies over and over, so they know the lines by heart.  When I was a kid, I watched musicals on repeat.  I made my brother learn all the songs and choreography to our favorite Disney movies.  But as an adult, I have moved away from that.

I’m a fan of this movie because it’s a timeless tale.  It’s about coming of age in a segregated world.  It’s about finding your place.  It’s about realizing who and what you are.  I don’t think I realized until just now.  This movie resonates with me so much because it’s about me.

Unlike the girl in the film, I’m fully vested in being a black woman.  Our similarity is that I struggle to know who I am besides that.  I have lots of labels…daughter, sister, granddaughter, friend, speech language pathologist, Christian, foodie, sweet, kind, respectable.  But none of those labels sums me up totally.  They are all just pieces of me.

Labels have made me feel stuck in some respects.  If I lose the title of foodie and retrain my mind to eat for nourishment, do I lose me?  If I fall short of being a “good” daughter, am I unfit for the kingdom?  If I begin to work out regularly, will that make me a fitness freak?  Can I live up to that title?  Will people give me grace when I fall short of the labels that they’ve given me?  Will I give myself grace when I miss the mark?

I’m just being honest.  I constantly evaluate myself and how I measure up.  Here lately, I’ve talked to God and looked to Him more than I look to other people.  Y’all I don’t want an imitation of life.  I want the real thing.  I want life and life more abundantly!  #wepreach