Who are you?

Growing up we had great anti-drug commercials on TV.
Like, "This is your brain... and this is your brain on drugs," and they would fry an egg.

One memorable such commercial showed a broken ballerina and the announcer said,
"No one ever wants to be a Junkie when they grow up."

At that moment my naive six year old self proclaimed, "I will! I'll be a junkie!"


Oh the stories my parents have...


Yet, sometimes even younger than six we are already trying to figure out what we will be. What we will be known for. What we will be good at. What... will define us. Who we are...

I had the privilege of crashing another church's bible study awhile back.

I couldn't help it. The topic was one I desperately needed and as I sat and talked with these new ladies it soon became clear this was a common desperate need!

I am constantly being reminded that I am not finding my identity in Christ.
Every time I try and find my identity in being a wife... I always end up causing a fight or destroying something of my husband's like this.

When I try and find my identity in being a great mom... well... yea that only lasts for five minutes, if that and that is ALWAYS the day we end up needing to go to the Urgent Care for something.

I no longer ride on my Disney coattails though it is still a great conversation starter...

Who am I than? What am I good at? What am I known for?

Often these questions send me down a spiral of selfishness then depression. A common spiral that many people find themselves in. Often because something doesn't happen they think should have... like getting married at a certain age or having children. Perhaps that dream job that should have been handed to you after graduation or once I accomplish this so and so will love me...

On and on it seems to be the equation of if I do A than B will love me or C will prove how awesome I am.

Now these things in and of it self aren't wrong. It is not wrong to be loved, to get married, to have children or have a career. But none of them satisfy fully and if they get taken away....


We are heartbroken. We get lost.


Sadly, when we are lost we miss out on the big picture:

When we are calling out, "Who Am I?!"
God is yelling back, 

"You are Mine! You are Mine! You are Mine!" 

 What makes you special? What makes you unique?

God choose you out of millions lost.

He sent His son Christ to save you.

You are His. 


No one knew this more than the Apostle Paul.


 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—Phillipians 3:7-9


Before his epic conversion in Acts 9, Paul/Saul was a pretty big wig among the Pharasees.
He had made it his mission to bring down the "new church" and his voice was loud and made things happen.

Yet, when he encountered Christ he threw all of that away. All of the prestige, the accomplishments, the accolades from his fellow Jews, all that good breeding... Also people liking him. He went from being "popular" to enemy #1 in the eyes of the men he'd always tried to please.

When Paul encountered Truth he couldn't turn back.

He spent the rest of his life spreading that truth. He wrote letters to budding churches with invaluable advice... if he lived in our time he would probably be the King of the Christian Blogosphere. Though he accomplished much in Christ's name, had wisdom countless followed and had the right to tell anyone who said, "Oh you don't know what it means to suffer for Christ" to put a sock in it...

He counted it all as loss. 

To put that in perspective, Imagine this:

You just won an Oscar. Everyone loves you. You have best selling book deals, everyone wants you on their talk show. From your success you've earned millions to which you give plenty to charities. You top Forbes list. By the world's standards you... have made it.

Yet... you take all those accomplishments, all those accolades and instead of being known by them when someone asks you your name and something about you, all you tell them is:


I am a child of God.


That's basically what Paul did! No matter what accomplishment or praise or love we can get on this Earth for being the best or being popular... none of it is as special, as precious as being beloved by the King of Kings!

Today my friend if you are feeling like you aren't the cream of the crop.
You didn't get that job you wanted.
Your dreams aren't coming true in the way you thought.
Or you are the most successful person you know...

Remember that your greatest accomplishment you didn't have to do anything for:

God chose you as His Beloved.
To Him you are amazing, special, talented, hilarious, beautiful and all around awesome. And when God thinks that of you... who cares what anyone else says?

I praise you because, I am fearfully and wonderfully made!   
Psalm 139:14



Are we still going to have days where we get distracted by the world and what they think of us?
Of course we are. It's an everyday thing where we have to remind ourselves where our true value lies.

But God... he never tires of telling us -


Who am I?

"You are Mine! You are Mine! You are Mine!" 


God Bless and Much Love,

Jessica

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