This is a question I often ask myself. It's a pretty layered question and it's one that surfaces a lot for me when we are working on adoption paperwork. There's a lot of questions on adoption paperwork that call for introspection. What are your hobbies, interests, who are your influences, etc. All of this boiled down is supposed to equate to answering the question "who am I?" We are supposed to share pictures of us that show us as "whole people." So, we dig through our pictures to fulfill requirements of what we think we need to have in order to be a person of interest. A conversation that has actually happened between me and my dear husband, David, goes a little like this: David: Hey! Look at this picture. Me: What category does it fill? David: I think it checks off both "has friends" and "looks like a fun person." Do we look fun yet? If you had asked me 15 years ago if I ever thought I would need to find pictures to prove that I both have friends and have fun, I would have laughed. Now I just kind of sigh as I try to figure out if I do indeed have friends and simultaneously have fun. I'm slightly embarrassed that this is a little harder than it seems like it should be. It always cracks me up when I think about using pictures to help articulate who I am - especially in light of a social media world. Because here's how I think now: This is me at my preferred 45* angle from above. And this is head on, which also happens to be the angle that so many of my pictures tend to come from. If only everyone were taller than me so that they only ever saw me from my preferred angle. Therefore, I would appreciate it if, as you read my blog, you picture me sharing these thoughts with you in only the 45* angle way. Which all leads to one of my favorite topics to preach on: our identity in Christ. I love this topic because when I feel crazy and lost in trying to figure out who I am, that reminds me of all I definitely need to know and let's me have space to rest from trying to identify myself according to every other metric. You may be thinking: Well, this is all lovely, but it's not really answering the question that starts of this post, who are you? There's the basics. I'm a 35 year old woman. I'm a wife of almost 9 years. David and I have been together for 13 years. I see a long future of growing old together. I'm mommy. My son, Lucas, is four years old. Lucas is adopted. We were there when he was born. He is the joy of my life. Sometimes it's hard to remember that he is not the sole part of my identity, but an important part. This blends into the next part of who I am. I'm an adoptive mommy. The long, frustrating process became totally worth it when we saw him for the very first time. It grew our family in additional ways that I didn't even expect. We are still in regular contact with his birth-mom which is an incredible gift. I'm so glad that God gave us this surprise that let our family grow in this way. I'm also a daughter. Both my parents are still with us which I know is a gift and joy not everyone still has available to them. They live about two hours away and it's really nice to be close to them again after having been 6+ hours away for almost six years. Sister is another title I get to claim. I'm the youngest of seven children. There are a lot of complicated relationships there but that doesn't make it any less of a part of who I am. ![]() As I didn't get their permission to post a picture of them just use your imagination. We're really a cute family. Honestly, we look a lot alike. There's no way we can deny being related (which, most of the time, is cute). www.brandstoryonline.com/see-face-vase-image/ I live with depression and anxiety. I have for quite a lot of my life. We're actually pretty good friends now. And even though sometimes I don't like to admit it, I have come to recognize the place it holds in my life and the impact it has made on me. I'm a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). I've been in ministry for about nine years and I absolutely love what I do. I serve a fantastic, vibrant congregation that keeps me busy and keeps my heart full. I've been serving in ministry with them for almost three years now. Before this I served a two point parish in southern Indiana, the part of the world known as Kentuckiana. (Not even kidding). Those congregations were filled with spectacular people who took a chance on a first call pastor and helped me grow in faith, grace, and leadership. I am forever grateful to the members of those churches for all they taught me and the love they showed our family. And now, I'm trying my hand at blogging. I've always loved writing and seeing how I get up every week and preach, I obviously like sharing my thoughts. So, we'll see how this goes. I hope you'll join me for this journey. There's not just one theme that my blog will follow just the musings of my mind as they come to me.
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AuthorI've been Robyn for my whole life. I've been a wife for 10 years and a mom for 5 years. I've been a pastor for about 10 years. I'm still stumbling, but I'm still standing. Archives
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