“We all need to have some meaning for who we are.”

A thought by H. Norman Wright DMin. from his book, Discovering Who You Are And How God Sees You. (p.7). Baker Publishing Group (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

We really do, don’t we?

Norman says, “Have you ever been there, in that bottomless pit where you wondered who you were, and no answers came? When it happens, it is frightening. We all need to have some meaning for who we are.

“Any of us can suffer a loss of identity, but it is a loss that in most cases is preventable. That’s right: it can be prevented. Many identity losses are felt because the foundation we base our identity on is shaky.

“Too often we think that striving for identity is a search done only when we are adolescents. Once we attain adulthood, it should be over, but it isn’t. Think about it for a minute. What do you base your identity on? Don’t you define yourself by your role, or what you do? Don’t you establish who you are by your emotional attachments to other people, places and things? Or do you base it on your appearance? It is quite typical for people to do this, and that would be fine if life were static, certain, and always predictable—but it isn’t.”

He later says, “If we have no sense of who we are beyond our different roles in life or our emotional attachments, we have confined ourselves to a state of future identity confusion. However, it is possible for this loss to be avoided.

“When we suffer a loss after having built our identity on anything that can change, we may experience the loss of our identity as well. Perhaps this startling fact will help us see how tenuous the foundation for our identity really is. Do you ever feel fragile? One counselee described herself as a thin china plate that could shatter at any moment.”

He says, “Is your identity based on the physical and emotional elements of your existence? Are you someone who ought to wear a sign that says, ‘Fragile. Handle with care. I break easier than you think’? Not sure?

“If we have no sense of who we are beyond our physical abilities and roles and emotional ties in life, we have confined ourselves to a state of identity confusion. And when we’re confused about who we are, it’s hard to walk in the blessing of God.”

I want to walk in the blessings of God, don’t you?  So will you come back tomorrow and strive with me to discover who we are and how God sees us?  Will you?

Yes, yes!