Someone Like You? But Who Are you?

Today’s post will be a rather short one, but significant one to me. It is significant because he highlights an issue of my daughter’s and in many respects that of many people today.
Almost everyday my daughter, Leila, watches the show Doc McStuffins as it is one of her absolute favorite shows. It is a show about a little girl who is a Dr. Doolittle of sorts but with toys. During her conversations with these little friends she discovers ailments and works to repair them.
I asked Leila at least twice, what she loved so much about this show. She couldn’t really explain its appeal to me.
Eventually we were kinda watching it together one afternoon and she turned to me and said, “Daddy she looks like me.”
BAM!!!
There it was. Though she’d never really spoke it prior she is beginning to see the differences in people’s appearance, specifically race. She doesn’t know what to call it, but knows that some look one way, others look another, and yet even others look also different. In the area that we live, she is not the only minority, but she is still a minority by definition. She, as I, was never raised in an area where her ethnicity was predominant.
I understand that she as a result, might start to suffer, as did I, from some of the identity issues that come along with being “different.” This is why she watched Doc McStuffins, because during the time she finds herself watching the show, she feels like she finds herself IN the show. On the surface, this is a wonderful thing that she has a sense of camaraderie from the show and its characters because she identifies with them. However, this highlights an issue of greater significance that many of us face.
Where should I find myself?
Who or what holds your identity is a question that all of us need to face. If you can’t answer that question right now, then you are in the most perilous of situations. I say that because that means your identity is placed in something that is not secure and that you are not even aware of. Someone or something, is now holding an image up to your face and saying this is who you are, this is who you must be….
Christians, you should know CLEARLY who holds your identity, but we often need reminders and rerouting of our identification. You are a child of God, co-heir with Christ, beautiful and made in His image. Please read and meditate on this list to realign with who Jesus says you are.
It is amazing to me, the impact that knowing who you are can have on your life, but even once you know who you are, finding like minded people to have camaraderie with is so important.
Parents:

1. Define for your child who they are.
2. Create opportunities for them to be in community with like minded people.
3. Repeat more often than you feel is necessary.

Christians:

1. Discover and remind yourself often who you are in Christ.
2. Find a church home, to help you be in community with like minded people.
3. Look for opportunities to help others discover their identity.

What are some ways that you have struggled with your identity?