We are not often asked ”Who are you?”  Sure, people may ask us what our name is, what we do, whose wife or mother we are, but we are rarely challenged with answering the question “Who am I?”

“I am a woman; a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a friend….”

The list goes on and on.  But do any of these roles define me? Is who I am defined by my relationship to others?  Am I my job description? Am I my appearance, my past or my limitations?

It can be very tempting to identify ourselves as the roles we play in life.  It is comforting and in some ways, gives us a sense of power and security. But what happens when that role unexpectedly changes? What happens if I lose my job, my relationship fails or my children leave home?  If my identity is wrapped up in my possessions, status or my accomplishments, what will happen when there is a sudden change?  When the pillars I attach my identity to fall, I may not know who I am anymore.  I will be set adrift, lost among the shattered remnants of my self-image, clinging to the debris of my life.  This is not an empowering path.

I am more than the roles I fill; I do not need to define myself with them.  I am not my job; my job is what I do and who I do it for.  I am not defined by my relationships; my relationships are who I love and care about.  I am not my possessions; they are simply things that inhabit space with me for a while.  I am not my past; while my past experiences may have helped to shape the woman I am today, they do not define me.  I am not my body; my body is my instrument. It houses my soul and enables me to do all the things I want to do in life, but it is not who I am.  I am more than the things I can accomplish in a day or in a lifetime.  I am an expression of God.  I am limitless and cannot be defined.