WHO AM I? WHO ARE YOU?

For many years growing up I wondered, "who am I?"  Am I the only one who wondered that or did many of you out there think the same question?   This question has rolled around in this mind of mine for most of my entire life.  I knew I was Breeze and Dolores' daughter.  I knew I was Tom and Sue's little sister (yes I was the baby of the family.  That explains a lot doesn't it?)  I knew I was Ted and Hazel's granddaughter along with Arthur and Grace's granddaughter.  Biologically I knew who I was.

As I got a little older I knew I was a catholic girl trying to be and do all that I was expected to do.  Trying to be the good girl who sat still and behaved was something that came natural for me (except I wasn't much for sitting still.)     I giggled a lot, I sang songs in church as loud as I could, in fact my cousin Berdine and I had competitions to see who could sing the loudest.  It didn't matter that I couldn't carry a tune.  Anyway as I grew the confusion about who I am became more real.    

Being teased and bullied in school didn't help my confusion.  In fact it clouded my judgement of myself.  Maybe I am who they say I am?  I'd look in the mirror and see a reflection that I didn't like.  I'd listen to my voice and hear a sound I didn't like.  Maybe if I change the way I look?  Maybe if I change my voice?  Maybe I am supposed to be someone else?  Grade school was not a good place to try to discover who I am.  Neither was high school.  Although that is the place where all my friends discovered who they were going to be.  By the time we graduated they had that question answered.  They were college students.  Me?  No way!  I had no direction or desire to find a career path.  

When I got married I thought now I know who I am, Jerry Barron's wife.  I expected him to show me and tell me who I am.  I expected that changing my name would change who I am, wrong!!!  I was still me and more confused than ever.   So I lived my life searching for an answer to this question who am I?    It wasn't until I heard Robert Schuller speak about me being a child of God that I realized that was the answer to the question I had been searching for all these years.  

1 John 3:1  What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it--we're called children of God! That's who we really are. But that's also why the world doesn't recognize us or take us seriously, because it has no idea who he is or what he's up to. 

You see I never heard this before in the catholic church I attended.  If it was ever talked about I don't remember so it couldn't have been that impactful, but when I heard Robert Schuller talk about being a child of God, it became real to me for the first time.   Maybe because he spoke with so much love in his heart, maybe because when he talked about this, tears were coming from his eyes, maybe I was just ready to hear it.  Whatever the case may be I discovered for the first time who I really am.

I am a child of God.  God loves me!  I could tell you who I am not but I would rather focus on who I am.  Because Jesus Christ died on the cross for me, because I verbally accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, because I stood up in front of 17,000 people and gave my life to Christ,  I am a child of God.  I am loved!  I am forgiven by God!  I am blessed!  I am saved!  I am a masterpiece in the hands of creator of the universe!  

Do you know who you are?  I mean do you really know?  Who you believe in makes you who you are, not what religion you are.  Who you believe in makes you who you are, not your occupation.  Who believe in makes you who you are, not your ethnic or racial background.  So let me ask you again, do you know who you are?  If you can't really answer that, then I ask you to consider what I have talked about here.

Who are you?  Join me in discovering who you are.  

Lord, thank you for showing me the truth about who I am.  Thank you for adopting me as one of your own children.  Help me to share the truth about your unfailing love with everyone I meet.  help me to show others who they can be, in Jesus name I pray, amen