Who Am I?

One day a couple of years ago I had a conversation with a woman with whom I had been acquainted about twenty years earlier. We had never been friends, but we had lived in the same small town and our kids were about the same age. Past that we had little in common. During our brief encounter, we chatted about where our family members were now living, working, etc., and somehow we got onto the subject of our plans for the near future. When I told her that I had plans to quit my current job and "help" my husband in his career, she got a look on her face that said, "I can't believe my ears!"

She asked me if I was going to retire. Suddenly at that moment I remember why I never thought of this woman as a friend. I was barely past forty and she knew it! Of all the... Anyway, I tried to explain how I intended to benefit my husband and myself by changing my focus, my priorities, and how I spent my days. She listened, but I don't think she heard a word of my explanations. When I was done rambling, she looked at me with a pathetic gaze and said, "Well, just don't lose your identity." Then she turned, tossing her head in the air, (reason #2 why we were not friends hit me) and walked away.

I pondered her comment the rest of the day, and still today it echos in the empty corners of my mind, "Don't lose your identity." I laughed then and I still laugh because you would have thought that by quitting my job as a library clerk, I would be running the risk of making my face fall off and my fingerprints disappear. I would no longer be the same person if I didn't stand behind a chest high counter every day and tell people when their library books were due. Well, I did resign my position behind the counter, and I don't think my dental X-rays changed a bit. (I did gain a few pounds though, so she might not have been ALL wrong.)

I believe that there are divine appointments, encounters planned by God and carried out by His Holy Spirit, and they are not always with angels. This was truly a divine appointment. God uses it often to remind me to examine myself and ask myself, "Who am I?" Will I be known and identified by what I do for a living? If I receive a regular paycheck or not? What people think of me? What IS my identity? I think I will spend some time trying to figure it out and I'll get back to you.
By the way, who are you?