Remember

Remember how the very first day of school that building seemed so big....
Remember how it felt like a whole new world...
Remember how old the 'big' kids were...
Now, remember in middle school how much courage it took to walk down the hallway some days... or pass by a certain group of people... how much you wanted to appear 'normal' or 'cool'...

Remember how in high school there was so much fear in the unknown... fear in not knowing what you wanted to do 'after high school'; fear in not knowing if you'd be invited to hang out after school or go to a party...

Remember how in college everyone had an opinion on you and what your goals and dreams should be, what would be a good fit for you, or at the very least people told you that you should have some idea of what you were going to be...
I remember trying to learn who I was... forget what I wanted to be....
As I learned who I was ... I also learned everyone has opinions on that too...

Remember? Of course I do. First off, how could I forget? Then, if I could forget... The part no one told me... Is I still have those moments every day in my adult life...

I have grown some since kindergarten... so buildings don't seem as big as they once did. As a matter of fact the world doesn't seem as big as I imagined when I was young. Still, there are places I've not been... and places I go that seem like a whole new world... There are older, wiser adults just like there were 'big kids' when I was young. There are those who make going where I have to go every day hard. There are people I don't know what to expect from and make me feel unsure of myself... There are still groups I want to present my best self in front of...

There are still people who have an opinion they're never afraid to share with me on how I should do this and that.... What my goals should be .... what career, job, diet, gym, church, neighborhood would be a good fit for me...

Oh, and my very favorite are there are still those who share their ideas and expectations of what my life and I should be.

I don't really have to remember time in my past when I was trying to learn who I was... I still wonder what I want to be....

I learn who I am one day ... The next day I realize I am changing...

This most freeing times in my life even as an adult are those moments when I remember where I am, who I am with, what I do, and even who I am matters little in comparison to the most important thing. What's most important? Remembering to whom I belong.

I belong to Jesus.

Who I am is His.

What I am is the daughter of the King. 

What I am doing is living to bring honor ad glory to Him.

Who I am with is the Holy Spirit.

Where I am is exactly where Jesus has been.

Only I don't have to die to be set free. Jesus already died for me.

He died that I may have life more abundantly, so today I am going to live.

I'm not worried with where I am, who I am with, what I do, or even who I am... because I belong to Him.

May we all live each day knowing we were made by the Creator of the heavens and the earth...