Roles (Part I)

I have played many roles in my life. 

I started out in music...(not really, this picture was just awesome)

And went on to ballet..

Tried my hand out in other forms of dancing...

Became a princess...

A cheerleader...

Ran for Walker County Fair Queen...

And have been a cowgirl all my life. 

These are just to name a FEW roles I have played in my 24 years of life. They are a big part of who I am today, but I have learned a lot about the "role" that "roles" actually play in my life.

In the American culture a person’s role is a huge part of “who they are” and how they are perceived. While in a discipleship program called The Forge (which I'll expand on in a post down the road I'm sure) I realized that I had bought into this mindset and believed that what I did and the roles I held determined who I was. After my sophomore year of college it was revealed to me that my entire identity was wrapped around the fact that, at the time, I was a Texas A&M student, a member of 3 different Christian organizations, a Pine Cove counselor and a respected leader in many people’s eyes. Boy, did that get rocked when I realized that if all of those things were stripped away from me, I wouldn’t know who I was. This began a year-long process of building my understanding that who I am is who the Lord says I am.

In other words, when I answer the question, “Who are you?”, my response should no longer be “Oh, I’m a student at Southern Seminary” or “I’m Mitchell’s wife” or “I worked at Pine Cove”. While those things are true, that is just a piece of my identity, it is not who I am. I am who the Lord says I am.

I am a redeemed bride of Christ (Hosea 2:14-20) chosen to be His ambassador in this world (Ephesians 6:19-20). THAT is who I am, and what I do should only be a product of that truth. (Post coming on how I reached this understanding soon)

Now, this truth is monumental and something I hold onto daily. But, in my next post I want to expand a little more on some of the difficulties I have faced when it comes to actually believing and walking in this truth. Vulnerability, here I come.

Until then, what roles do you have in your life? Are any of them determining your identity instead of being a product of it?