Just Me. And That's All.

Dear Readers,

Last February, somebody asked me to define myself. "Who is Heather?" they asked. And after scratching my head and feeling bewildered and realizing that I had nearly no idea, I came up with a trite little answer, emailed it away, and thought nothing more about it until tonight.

Tonight I was thinking about God. And about me. And about who I am as God made me to be. And I was thinking about the unique path that God created for me even before I existed. And I was thinking about how I don't know exactly what that path looks like, and how it's scary to trust what you don't know. And I was thinking about how it's so easy to get distracted from following that path because I'm too busy trying to live up to somebody else's idea of who I should be.

Tonight I was asked the question, "What would it look like for you to completely trust Jesus when He says, 'You, follow me'?"

And I realized that the answer to this question lies in two places - who I am, and who Jesus is.

Jesus is love, loyalty, bravery, sacrifices, patience, hope, light and righteousness. I am the sum of my choices and experiences, and hopefully some of the characteristics of Jesus. Jesus takes all of my successes and failures and joyful times and broken dreams, and turns them around into lessons and growth and love and peace. He takes the best and worst parts of me, and turns them into something beautiful, something that reflects Him.

Jesus came to give life, and life more abundantly, life to the fullest. The only one getting in His way is me.

Jesus wants me to be who I am and to look a little more like Himself every day. He wants my heart to reflect His heart. He wants me to find my identity in Him. And that's all.

I might not know my path, and that might be scary, but I do know Jesus, and He takes all the fear away.

It's just a simple truth. So obvious.

So after taking a second look at my "trite" definition, I've decided it isn't so bad.

"What makes me, me? It's quite simple really: my failures, successes, fears and insecurities, confidence, family, friendships, opinions, beliefs...a passion for people, a couple of failed relationships, about one and a half severely broken hearts, a tendency to reflect on everything in words that never get spoken to anyone, and a strong love for God that actually does leave me speechless; essentially, I'm me because of my ability to embrace human experience and turn around a better person."

I'm just me. Me enhanced by Jesus Christ. And that's all.

Love,
That girl in Switzerland