A place from which to bloom: further discussions on identity

If I tell you that I am a 40 year old, middle class, Caucasian, heterosexual female, who speaks English, identifies as a Christian, and lives in the USA, does that tell you who I am? Is that my identity? What if I tell you that I am a mom, a teacher, and a philanthropist? Does that sum it up? I don’t think it does. Those are facts about me, but do any of them get to the core of my identity?

What if I start telling you about my personality, my preferences, and my character? Do those things get more to the heart of it? I think these three things get more to the heart of it but to be built solidly and reflect the glory of God the way we are meant to, I believe we must be undergirded with our identity in Christ first. I absolutely hate how cliché that sounds so let me unpack my understanding of that.

To have our identity in Christ means to have our value wrapped up in the Truths of who God says we are as His children, his friends, his beloved. If my identity lies in a deep sense of belonging, being understood, valued, and loved, then my soul has found its home, my heart in Christ, Christ in me. Home is meant to be a stabilizing place that we provide for our children where we nurture them and prepare them for life in the world. Apply that to having our “home” in Christ and now we have a solid place from which to begin our journey.

This takes me back to what I talked about in my first post, Christ in me, the center holds. The core of our being must be undergirded with Truth about our value and the value of every other human being around us. Our human tendency is to put some people on pedestals, above us, and to place others below us, thereby creating a hierarchy of value. This decreases our God given value, puts expectations on those we deem as “above” us and diminishes the worth of those “below” us. Somehow, we must see ourselves and others according to these verses, which I believe are meant to be the foundation of our identity.

I am adopted, a child of God. -Galations 4:6-7, I John 3:1, Romans 8:16

I am free from accusation, counted blameless. -colosssions 1:22, Romans 8:1

I am wonderfully made. -Psalm 139:14

I am watched over and seen. -I Peter 3:12

I am heard. -I Peter 3:12

I am known. -Luke 12:7

I am chosen. -Colossians 3:12

I am complete. -Colossians 2:10

I am loved -Romans 5:5

Now a lot of people will tell you that you just need to meditate on verses like these and believe them and then you will be good, like they are a magic wand or something. From my own personal journey, I can say that does not always work. Maybe it works for some people, I do not know, but I often need to experience things for them to sink into my heart.  Head knowledge and heart knowing are not the same thing.

This is the part in the discussion where we can branch off in many different directions, meaning, I do not think there is a one size fits all, follow my 10 steps to know your identity, and bloom, type of solution. There is depth to this thing and we all have different starting points as well as needs. I do know that if we were not raised in these Truths, the rich fertile stuff, then it requires a lot more guts, determination, and tears to get to it.

It is so hard because there are things embedded deep in our unconscious minds, like slabs of concrete, that get in the way of us finding this fertile ground. There are voices that echo from our past telling us things that are not true. There are subconscious fears telling us to play it “safe” and stay small. There are people in our present lives who diminish our value with their words and actions. There is so much more to say on the topic of hindrances but you get the point. We all have different things that need to be undone within us or broken through so that our roots can go deep into the foundation from which we can truly live. 

Since God cannot change, the things about Him do not change, and therefore the things He says about us are true for all time. This place, within the depths of the bosom of God, is a cozy, nurturing, solid place that can take really determined roots to reach. Once we are planted in this unchangeable substance of what God says about us, we can then build our lives by exploring the various facets of ourselves. Here is the fun part where we can explore our personalities, discover our preferences, and develop our God given talents.

What if the flowers said, it’s just too hard?

The grand beauty of fighting to find and living from this fertile soil is that no matter what, it cannot be taken from us. It is always there to fall back on even if all other things about me are stripped away. God made me; therefore, I am loved and I have value regardless of what any human being may say or do to me. My value does not lie in what I can do but in the fact that I am. There is something in me that feels incredibly empowered from wrestling to become rooted in such solid ground, a place from which to bloom.