When someone asks "who are you?" how do you define yourself?
Reflecting on what I have learned through the last few years of surgeries and health challenges, a few things have been brought to the surface.
We previously lived a very active life. I would take the kids out, swimming, sledding, biking after school, Craig would come home have dinner and we would head out again.
When my health changed, that rhythm of life changed.
I worked. I was very appreciative when my neighbor approached me one day and said. "You work hard, clients are coming and going, you are a very hard worker!" I value being known as a hard worker.
That rhythm changes when health is compromised.
I had not realized how much I took my strength and physical ability for granted. All of a sudden being approached in a parking lot by an unknown individual who wanted money from me was a threatening situation. I felt vulnerable, unable to defend myself.
Prepping meals, cleaning the house, caring for my family and partnering with my husband all had to be redefined.
Ministering, meeting with people, leading, were all impacted by my health.
Missing some of my kids' sports games and tournaments for the first time was hard. All of it changed.
Having a scar running half the length of my torso, seeing my muscle tone decrease, being on meds that have impacted my metabolism and weight. All of these things attack the level of comfort I feel in my own skin and threaten my self-worth.
If my work, family life, ministry and self-image are taken from me, what is left?
If I define myself by those roles, activities, abilities, and factors, what happens when these things are stripped away?
What happens when my world falls apart. When everything meaningful, important and enjoyable is taken?
Who am I when all of that is gone?
If my worth is found in these areas, I am in deep trouble when they are taken from me.
How I define who I am, predicts how I respond to the challenges life throws at me.
If my self-worth is defined by my work, I am thrown into a desperate tailspin when that is taken from me.
If I define myself by my looks, growing old is seen as a curse instead of a privilege and I am likely to miserable, discontent and full of self-loathing when life impacts my physical body.
Anything this world offers as a means to define me is unreliable and false. It can be taken from me. It will not endure the test of time. Nothing this world offers lasts.
When our kids were little Craig asked them daily, "Who are you?"
Inevitably they would say their name, that they were our child, or something like a gymnasts or soccer player.
Soon he had them answering "God's child".
"Who are you?!" He would call as they left for school, sport or just for fun as they sat down for dinner.
" A child of God!" they would say.
As soon as it became routine, he asked less frequently. Weekly, every other week, when they were having a rough day, he would ask them "who are you?".
Now, Craig asks our children this question when it is clear they are losing sight of who they really are. When something becomes a threat to their true identity, he uses it to gently remind them of the truth.
The beauty of basing our identity in Christ is that nothing changes it. I can get old, break my body, lose my job, and nothing changes my identity. My worth and the truth are firm, unchanging when my identity is based in God.
I can fall to a temptation that regularly sabotages me and still my identity is secure.
It is an identity that is unshakeable. As I learn to base my worth in God, I become less important. The more that the truth of who I am has its' foundation in Christ, the less important what I can do or what I think I have to offer becomes. God is the focus.
All that matters is that I am His.
Through the sacrifice Christ made for me, the forgiveness I receive from Him and the recognition that he is my Lord, I become His adopted child. All the work was done by Him. I just have to receive it. Simple.
At the end of it all, the answer to this question is the most important.
Who am I?
No comments:
Post a Comment