If You Don’t Know Who You Are, How Will Anyone Else Know?
That is the question posed in my friend’s “einspire” this week. (Shout out to Core Leaders Network.)
As I consider his question, I’m reminded of the story of the boy tossing his ball in the air and trying to hit it. With each toss, he announces, “I’m the greatest hitter in the world.”
Toss – swing – miss.
After several tries, he takes a moment and thinks. Then takes his position once again, tosses the ball into the air and announces, “I’m the greatest pitcher in the world!”
Such a fantastic perspective! The best part of this story is that kid knows he is great. He’s not defined by his circumstances – his circumstances are defined by what he believes about himself.
Who Is That In The Mirror?
When you look in the mirror, who do you see? (No weight jokes please!) Do you see a poet – author – teacher – spouse – etc? All of those things are what we “do” not really who we are. They are (or should be) the fruit of what flows from who we are.
Do you see a survivor? A victim? A divorcee? None of these things the heart and soul of you – they are simply the result of your experiences. Side note: Someone recently introduced me to a friend as “This is Nancy, her husband just died.” Wow. Before Bert’s passing, no one ever introduced me as “This is Nancy, her husband is alive.” I understand they were trying to be sensitive but the last thing I want is to be defined by what I’ve lived through. Ugh. I am not all the things that have happened to me!
When In Doubt, Ask Facebook
Yep. That’s just what I did. I put it out there for all my friends to speak into what they saw as most significant about me. I must say, those who responded were very kind and I appreciated all the great things they had to say. However, one friend wrote something that really resonated with me. When I read it, I thought, “Yes. This is who I am.” While everyone else had encouraging responses (mostly based on what I’ve done), she zeroed in on the motivation behind what I do.
In other words, she articulated how most of the things I do come from who I am. I bet you’re dying to know what she wrote. Stay tuned for future articles.
Why Does It Matter Anyway?
This matters to me because my life is changing. Again. As I prepare to step out of my position as Senior Pastor, I’m assessing what I’ll do next. And as I face the future, I discover I really want to be significant. I don’t mean important or famous. I mean I want to invest myself in making a difference by being alive. Let’s face it. Everyone wants to be significant! I’m just honest enough to say it out loud.
It should matter to you too. If we can identify “who” we are, we feel value in almost any position. You find joy in being “you” wherever you find yourself. Success becomes redefined by whether we are living to the fullness of who were created to be. It is no longer determined by how many plaques are on the wall or how much is in the bank account.
Who are you apart from your experience, position, or title? Who were you before life’s circumstances began conditioning you? What are you doing that gives you satisfaction? Or what do you dream of doing? What drives those dreams – experience, expectation or something deeper?
I’ve found that when we are driven by the experiences of our background, there is no satisfaction in what we do. In other words, the man who is driven to succeed financially because of childhood poverty, rarely has enough and satisfaction eludes him. But the man who succeeds because he longs to be a solution to a problem, to make the world a better place, is deeply satisfied.
What Do You Think?
Any feedback as to what you see as most significant about me? What about how you see yourself? I’d love to have some discussion around significance and identity.
By the way, a friend of mine suggested that I record an audio file of these articles so she can listen to them while driving. What do YOU think? Let me know if that would be helpful to you. Would you consider supporting that financially?
Prayer Matters
I’m praying for greater revelation of how God wired me and what to do with it. I’ll be praying the same thing for you too! I’m also praying for open doors.
Thanks for reading my blog. What about you? What are you praying for? Share by commenting or you can contact me privately with any prayer concerns at pastorn1975@gmail.com .
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