Who is Me? {part 1}

I was recently invited to speak at our MOPS meeting about our identities as moms.  As you can imagine, the message that evolved wasn't just limited to mothers of preschoolers, but was relevant to a vast audience.  My talk still focused on moms, but I think that we can all acknowledge that we've wondered ...

Who am I?

Who am I on the inside?
Who am I on the outside?
What do I have to give to those around me?

Within this 31 Day series, Mom in the Midst, I want to share with you a mini-series of sorts ...

Who is Me?

My daughter has a favorite game that she loves to play.  It’s a bit of a spin off of “Guess Who?” in that you are trying to ask just the right questions in order to determine your own identity.  It’s called, “Guess What I Am”, but in Ashley’s sweet little 4 year old talk, this game quickly became known as “Who Is Me?”  And as you can see in this picture, Ashley is Nemo.

I thought it would be funny to play a little “Who is Me?” this morning.

In any given day, I fill each and every one of these roles:  teacher, chef, nurse, maid, taxi driver and cheerleader ... but that isn't actually who I am.  My identity goes a little deeper than my ability to cook perfect mac-n-cheese or count to 100.


I want to share a little bit with you about how I have begun to answer that question, “Who Is Me?” by taking a peek at my journey of discovering who God says I am.

First, I want to talk about me as a Person.

If we were to go back in time a few years, you would find me a very different person.  I would have described myself as uptight, controlling, needy and ultra-sensitive.  Not the most complimenting of adjectives.  I had a death grip on my life and without necessarily meaning to, I had a tendency to plan my days to death.  I had my identity wrapped up in a nice little box, too.  This need for control was not a good thing, but I was too frightened to let go.  What if releasing my grip resulted in something messy or (heaven forbid!) unplanned?

Eventually, as you moms know, there comes a time when you realize that you can’t control everything.  Your precious little bundle is not a robot to be programmed but a person to be nurtured and it became painfully obvious to me that I needed to let go of this illusion of perfection and control.  Gratefully God was present as I relaxed my grasping hands.

This turning point came about four years ago.  During my own private time with God, I was wrestling with this fear and anxiety about not meeting the high standards that I had set for myself.  Not standards anyone else set for me, mind you.  These were expectations that I had of me.  During one particular afternoon, I remember I was sitting in my chair in the sun and I had just finished a section of a Bible study I was working on when I came across the word, “Charis”.  This word lit up for me.  It was like a neon sign blinking on Broadway!  And as I sat there, I knew that God was speaking to me.  

Charis is the Greek word for “grace”, but it’s actually packed with significance.  Here is the extended definition:

• Bestows pleasure, delight, favorable regard
• Beauty and gracefulness
• Friendly disposition out of which proceeds graciousness, loving-kindness, compassion and good will.
• Free and Spontaneous
• God’s pleasure and joy

That knocked my out of my chair!  Those are not any words that I would have used to describe myself, but I feel very strongly that this was who God saw when He looked at me.  

There was not an instantaneous change in my life after this day.  But with these words burned into my mind and my heart, I slowly saw myself embracing this new identity.  And as I accepted the truth that God loves me and sees me as precious and as a pleasure and a joy, my life began to reflect that.  I am still in the throws of allowing God to transform my life (it is a definite wrestling match at times) but He is faithful to keep wooing me.  It’s astonishing to me the frequency with which this word pops up in my life ... a gentle reminder from God.

I would strongly encourage you to look to God’s word to discover again your identity in Him.  And then savor that.  Soak it up like a sponge and let Him work in you.  The Bible is full of verses that describe who you are to God.  Here are a few that I would share with you:

1 John 3:1  See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!

Colossians 2:9-10  You have been given fullness in Christ.

Psalm 139:13  For You created me in my inmost being; You knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Ephesians 2:10  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2 Corinthians 5:17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation:  The old has gone, the new has come.

1 John 5:4  For everyone born of God overcomes the world.  This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

2 Timothy 1:7  For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.

I fully believe that I would never have been able to move on to the next aspect of finding me if I hadn’t first discovered the beauty within.  God first had to redeem me as a person before He could release me to revamp my outward Package.


But more on that tomorrow ...
___________________________________

Day 1:  Mom in the Midst

Day 2:  My Button is Lame

Day 3:  Splendidly Lavish

Day 4:  Keeping My Head Above Water

Day 5:  Time-Warp Wednesday ~ Little Me

Day 6:  Me, Myself & I

Day 7:  Food For Though ~ Bacon

Day 8:  The Aches and Pains of Service

Day 9:  I Heart You

Day 10:  Who is Me? {part 1}