Just BE

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” Our kids are asked this question so many times! Some, like my (Camilla’s) older brother, know their future profession from about age seven. Some do not. After such an interaction with an adult my mom would say to me, “You do not have to be anything! You just have to BE.” So freeing! And such a good reminder even today as a mother: identity is not in what we do, it’s in who we are. 

Motherhood is an important part of what we do, but it is not all we are. As women, we can often easily see that our identity is not in our work outside the home, but we can get lost when we try to define ourselves once working inside the home (full time or part time). Work inside the home – and our spouses and children – may be a top priority (and it should be), but it cannot define who we are. Work, inside or outside the home, is something God asks us to do, it is not all he says we ARE. 

As believers, our identity always starts with the gospel story: we are worth Jesus (John 3:16). We are God’s creation (Psalm 139) and we are made for a purpose (Ephesians 2:10). God has a plan for each of us, and if you are a parent, at least part of that purpose is to point your children to Jesus. We are confident that God created you and created your children so that you are the perfect person to communicate God’s love to your children. With God’s help, we all have what it takes!