We all have one thing hanging over our lives that has been there far too long. It could be a habit to break, an addiction to conquer, a goal to accomplish, a long-standing project to complete, a relationship to restore or end, or a debt to retire. That one thing keeps showing up and outstaying its welcome. It sits smack dab in the middle of the room like the proverbial pink elephant. Everyone tiptoes around it—never acknowledging or discussing it.

Many Christians shy away from the Song of Songs. It can certainly be a little intimidating to tackle on your own, and there are a lot of elements in the Song that only add to the complex themes present there.

I have found myself using the term fearless lately to describe the women in my life. Most days I am privileged to hear women’s stories. Men have great stories too, but today I would like to celebrate the fearlessness of women in particular. I hear wide and varied stories:

I have a vocational issue.

When I was nineteen years old, I went on spring break from my small Christian liberal arts college, cut off my wildly curly hair to a quarter inch from my head, and swore off dating forever. I was done with a capital D.

Long before Jerry Maguire uttered the words “You complete me,” we as the human race have had a penchant to search for fulfillment in anything but Jesus. We look to achievement, entertainment, wealth, glory, excitement, and people to fulfill us, to build us up, to make us feel valued and worthy of our role and place here on this planet.

There’s a cacophony of identity discussions blowing up my newsfeeds. People are passionate about peeing; this isn’t one of those blogs, but I have done some serious thinking this week about identity.