My Path to Identity

Identity is a pertinent subject because many of us in today's world have lost the knowledge of who we are, why we're here, and what our purpose is while on Earth. I have traveled this subject for the past sixty-seven years. It all began as a young Christian international worker to Indonesia. Everything that had defined me (identity) was stripped away by a new culture, language, and community. The impact of that was deep-seated inferiority and inadequacy; intuitively, I knew the problem lay deep inside my soul. The ensuring years have been a journey of identity...of self-discovery and God-discovery; the two are inseparable.

Self-discovery exposed me to me: who I thought I was, who I aspired to be, and then who I really was - my good and my bad, my strengths and my weaknesses. It was a road that led to self-acceptance; but is self-acceptance a wall or a door? Does it lead to a dead-end or to change?

God-discovery meant experiencing who God is...His holiness and love in tandem. I found that His holiness gives foundation to His love, and His love reflects His holiness. I also found that because of who He is, He accepts me for who I am...in all my raw nakedness.

Much of this journey of discovery was through desert landscapes. Disappointments, disillusionments, stressful circumstances, unfulfilled dreams, dashed hopes, thwarted ambition, unemployment. All necessary in this journey to identity.

May I invite you to walk with me...to perhaps see your own journey in mine, finding wholeness and freedom in who you are because of who God is.