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| Carlsbad, CA |
This is the first blog post I have written since we have been home on home assignment. To be honest, I didn't really know what to write about. Even though Keith has been speaking at churches around the US, we are not actively involved in personal ministry right now. At least not in the ways we are accustomed to, and for some reason that kept me from writing a new post. So I guess, I will share with you what it is like to be back "home."
Furlough years are strange.
Let me explain... you spend years becoming accustomed to a very different lifestyle, work pace, culture, and routines. Then you come "home" and things are so different. People drive differently, there are new buildings, restaurants have closed, friends have moved, family members have passed away. Things are so different, and yet there is something wonderful about the things that have stayed the same.
One thing specifically I have noticed, is that while much has changed here in the states, so have we. We are different people now. We hold treasures deep inside us that others can't see. And even though now we look the same on the outside as the others in our community, we are really quite different. The lense in which we view the world seems to be different.
It is really a beautiful gift, and yet at times it is challenging to find your identity.
People will ask, "so what do you do?" or "where did you move here from?" These simple questions usually produce an awkward pause while I think about how much information I really want to share.
Our personal identity is a complicated matter. At this point in my life, I feel like I should have my identity strongly rooted, and yet I feel lost for words when I think about who it is I am. I am not just a stay-at-home mom, I no longer work as a RN, I am not currently serving as a missionary.
This time of home assignment has drawn me back to my only true identity, a child of God. As easy as it is to type those words it has taken me half a year to be able to write them with certainty that I DO find my personal identity as a child of God.
Where are you at today? What is your personal identity rooted in? Is it what you are doing? Or who God has set you apart to be?
You are His beloved child.
-Sarah