Who I am

Have you ever thought about what you use to define who you are? I was listening to a song today and a verse caught my attention- The verse says-"I believe what I believe, is what makes me what I am…" Then later today Reba came on TV, and a verse in the theme song says – "Who I am is who I want to be…" I started thinking a lot about all of the influences that make us into who we are.
I learned a hard lesson a couple of years ago when I quit working. I had always thought of myself as being a young professional. A Community Relations Specialist and Recruiter, but I learned that it wasn’t who I was, that was just the job I did. Once I realized that, I was on a quest to figure out who I was.
I have learned a lot about my family and ancestors, and I marvel at what remarkable people they are. But do our ancestors make us who we are? My Great, Great, Grandparents on my Mom’s side made a pilgrimage from England all the way to Utah. They sailed to the US, took a train to Idaho, and had to walk from Idaho to Utah, with 5 children in horrible deadly,winter conditions, sometimes waking up with their hair frozen to the ground. They had one ox cart that they had to pull by hand. An estimated 500 people that they were traveling with died on that trip.
My Grandpa on my Mom’s side is a hero of WWII. He was a bomber pilot, and while he was stationed in Europe, he was shot down, and captured as a POW. In the end, he made it back to the states and spent an additional year and a half recovering from his injuries.
My Mom was a single mother with 2 children, who didn’t graduate high school, who worked as a waitress to support us. She worked on getting her GED, starting as a teller in a bank and is now a Vice President of a Bank.
So I say you can draw strength from the determination, and bravery, of your family, and these are characteristics that we can work to model in our own lives.
But ultimately, I am a child of God. And that’s all I need to know. I don't have to wonder or search anymore because he has given me a guidebook that tells me who I am in Christ. I am a wife to an incredible man, and a mother to a beautiful baby boy. My family is very important to me, I love to spend time with them. I love to spend time with my friends, I love to laugh, I love to read good books, and go for long walks, I love outdoor activities and watching Romantic Comedies. I have a heart for children, and love working with preventive programs for children. If I could make the world a better place for everyone I would. I love to travel, and would like to visit every state at least once, and would like to visit Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Greece. I truly enjoy history, and can get lost in WWII history. I love to eat, and bake, and I have an incredible knack for picking great people as friends! I have been through heartache after heartache, but I’m still ok. I have learned that God takes care of me. My strength comes from God, and my faith is in God.