Cut Out Images…
Remember back in the day when we used to cut out name-brand logos, cool pictures, and inspiring quotes from magazines? We’d glue them onto our folders, collage-style, then cover them with clear contact paper like we were preserving a masterpiece.
We’d spend hours doing this—with friends, music playing, snacks nearby—as we crafted the “perfect” folder for the new school year. If you missed that era, I’m not gonna lie… it was kinda magical. And honestly? That time was so much better spent than what we now call “scrolling.”
Hang with me as I digress for a moment-
Do we actually recognize our hours and minutes as life time?
Not just time.
But life.
I wonder what we would do differently if we looked at our time that way?
(Hmmm… maybe a blog for another day as I sit with that thought a little longer.)
But back to the point…
Just like we cut out and pasted images in those childhood collages, we do something very similar in life—we patch together pieces to form our identity. We look around at the people we admire and start “cutting out” the parts we like-
Her confidence? I want that.
His style? Gotta have it.
Their success, their energy, their influence? Paste, paste, paste.
Over time, we become a collection of other people’s highlights—tiny fragments taped onto ourselves—until we don’t even recognize who we are anymore. Our God-given identity gets buried under layers of imitation.
But here’s the truth:
God created you with a purpose.
He designed you with intention, with a role only you can play.
You were handcrafted to meet a need in this world that only you can fill.
When we cover that up with pieces of other people, we distort the image God created. And that distortion? It’s never fulfilling. It will always feel fake.
Because it’s not you.
Your calling isn’t about perfection—it’s about acceptance and purpose.
It’s about showing up as the one God created you to be, not the one the world tells you to copy.
So today, I invite you to lay down the scissors. Stop piecing yourself together from the outside.
And rise up in the fullness of your God-given identity. The world doesn’t need another copy-paste version.
The world needs YOU—exactly as God made you.
