Ladies,

Yesterday morning, I discovered much to my surprise, that a lily of the valley is a bit of an imposter. Botanically, it belongs to an entirely different family. The name stuck simply because of how it looks and how it has been understood over time.

I kept returning to that thought throughout the day. It made me aware of how easily names can take on a life of their own. When something sounds right or feels familiar, we often stop questioning whether it is actually true. The label begins to feel like enough.

I started thinking about how often we do the same thing with more important things. What are we calling God that is not truly God, and what are we calling love that does not actually resemble love in how it shows up in our lives?

Sometimes we attach meaningful names to things that feel easier to manage or more comfortable to hold. We may call control wisdom, or intensity love, or familiarity faith. These substitutions are not always intentional. More often, they happen over time as we grow accustomed to certain patterns and stop looking at them too closely.

But scripture invites us to look beyond words and appearances. It reminds us that love is not proven by language alone, but by action and truth. What something is called matters far less than what it produces and how it shows up in the world.

This is not about becoming suspicious or critical of ourselves or others. It is about slowing down and paying attention. This creates space to ask honest questions in the presence of God and to allow Him to name things rightly for us.

There is often a difference between what looks like the real thing and what actually is. Truth may be quieter. It may require more patience. It may ask something of us. But it is also what leads us into freedom.

Today, I encourage us to spend some time noticing the names we are using and asking whether they match the reality beneath them. Then make space for truth to speak louder than the labels we have grown accustomed to using.

And for me, when I realize I’ve gotten something wrong, it helps to remember that God is patient with us as He leads us into what is true.

May we all be people who welcome truth when it comes, even when it asks us to see differently.

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