Idenity...

Once I crossed over from the "mom-of-three" to "mom-of-four" ...I heard a barrage of different comments. The most common and often heard is "Wow, you really have your hands full!" But some of the others have been "You are a super mom"...or "You are amazing"...and even "You really are a saint". These are all meant with the best of intentions...but unfortunately...more often than not...they are not true. I am NOT a super mom...I fall very short of being amazing...and I am not a saint - that is - on my own.
While my parents were here, I had a long talk with my dad about the nature of these comments and the danger it is to my ever creeping pride. How easy it would be for me to bask in the glory of what people think of me (or don't really KNOW of me! :-). To allow myself to be swept away by the fact that just having four children makes me great. But when I look back at the Cross and see all that lies beneath it...all the grime and the mire that I laid down there and CONTINUE to lay down there...I come face to face with the truth.
My claim to greatness...my lasting significance can only be the blood of Jesus. When I become distracted by the identity of wife...mother...pastor's wife...friend...daughter I often become distracted by the pressure to "keep up". If people think I'm amazing...well, gosh...then I want to actually prove that I AM amazing! If people think I'm a super mom...then any time that facade is threatened..I panic. When there are situations or circumstances that show me for who I really am...I make excuses for my ill-behavior or impatience. Slowly, those identities slip through my fingers and I am no longer able to control what those around me think of me. Left alone with myself I come face to face with the truth.
The only identity I have that will never be threatened is that of redeemed...saved...washed...regenerated. Those become my true identity. Having nothing to do with me at all...but the One who saved me. And once I am secure in that identity, I can be okay with the comments that come and go. And more often, the judgment that comes and goes.
Having that identity allows me to move around in the ROLES that God has placed me in freely. To move in and out of different areas of my life and not cling to them to form who I become. As one stage ends and another phase begins...those roles change and transform into something new. But my identity is firm.

O the blood of Jesus washes me
O the blood of Jesus shed for me
What a sacrifice that saved my life
Yes, the blood, it is my victory...