What Do You Believe?

It may be strange to talk about a Christmas movie in April, but I am going to. One of my favorite Christmas movies that makes me laugh so hard, is Elf. Though I know Will Ferrell is an acquired taste, in this movie he cracks me up. Every time he starts to sing (“I’m in a store, and I’m singing…”), or attacks people for their lack of genuine Christmas spirit (“You sit on a throne of lies…”), I just can’t even.

But as outlandish as this movie is, there is a part of Buddy the Elf’s story we can all relate to. I am not talking about his sugar addiction, or even his awkwardness in falling in love. No, I am talking about the fact that Buddy isn’t actually an Elf.

At the beginning of the movie, we are told Buddy, as a baby, crawls into Santa’s gift bag at his orphanage. Then, he is taken to the North Pole. There He is adopted by an elf, and for his entire life he is told he is an elf. Though when puberty hits, he grows much larger than his peers, no one tells him who he really is. Instead, he is dressed like an elf, and taught how to make toys like an elf.

All of this continues until the truth of his identity can’t be hidden any longer. His adopted elf father must finally tell him who he is, which sends him on a quest to find his biological father. I know, I know, I am telling you your life story right here. It’s like looking in a mirror. Only, not really. But here is the point I want to make: In all of our lives,

All of us have been told a lie about who we are.

Whether it is from a well meaning family member trying to protect us, or our society that seems to change its messages daily, all of us have taken in lies about ourselves. All of our lives, we’ve breathed in messages that tell us we aren’t meant for that, good enough to do that, or shouldn’t talk like that. And often, the ones that we’ve believed are the very ones we need to expose as lies in order for us to become who we’re meant to be. Yet here is the problem,

We believe them.

As you are reading this, there is a good chance there is something you believe that effects things you do every day. Something, that may actually be false. To help you see how this might be true, let me share a lie I used to believe.

I used to think I wasn’t athletic; worse, that I was physically unable to be in good shape. I had terrible asthma, which kept me from playing sports as a kid. So I determined exercise wasn’t my thing. But this made me feel hopeless about my body, and weak both physically and mentally. For years I struggled with my weight and lacked confidence. Then, a few normal, yet surprisingly effective, things happened.

First, I learned about yoga. I heard it was more about stretching, didn’t involve cardio, and helped relieve stress. So, I gave it a try. And I learned that through committing to it a few times a week, my body became stronger.

Second, I married an active person. A great tip to do almost anything well is to spend time with people who are doing what you want to do. Early in our marriage, we’d go to the gym together, and as I walked on the treadmill Tony would tell me to run. At first I told him to shut up (mostly in kinder words). But through watching him, I learned that running always starts out hard. That it wasn’t hard because I was bad at running. It was hard because it’s hard. The lie had been I was bad at exercise. The truth was working hard at exercising regularly made me feel better about myself.

There are things we’ve believed about ourselves without even questioning them. Like Buddy ignoring all the signs that told him he wasn’t an elf, we ignore truths that could make our lives better. Sometimes, because testing these beliefs about ourselves is scary. Only to not test them, means never discovering all we are meant to be.