Oh the places you'll go...

Dr Seuss once told me I'd go incredible places. But I never really believed him. I always assumed I'd be a normal person and do normal things in normal places just like every other normal person that I knew.

But, interesting things happened in my normal life that just didn't fit.
I became a flight attendant for American Airlines, spent 6 weeks learning evacuation drills and airport codes and learning how to fly. Would you care for a soda or a headset?

I sat in a hotel room watching the news as the second airplane flew into the World Trade Center. If it hadn't been for inclement weather, I would have spent that week stuck in Buffalo NY. Because of said weather I'd worked too many hours in one day so they had to cancel the next leg of my journey which had me snug in my apartment on that fateful Tuesday.

Then, years later I became a foster parent. Fell in love with 5 adorable children and stressed myself to the maximum that I could handle. Normal people don't suddenly receive two children in the middle of the night. Spend thousands of dollars on daycare for children that aren't their own and suddenly find yourself on CPS's speed dial.

But here's what I've discovered.

None of us are normal. Whether you feel it's your diagnosis, or some traumatic event or even a joyful event that's made you abnormal; you'll always be abnormal.

I remember a phone call from a woman who was simply on my phone because she wanted to order checks. In the course of a simple check order she had repeated at least 4 times that she was "the baby girl who was held hostage on the plane". I was curious for the story, but always mindful of time constraints I didn't ask for the story (though by mentioning it so often I assume she was itching to tell me).
She was ordering checks though - and based on the sound of her voice I had the impression that she was in her late 20's at least.
And yet, when asked anything concerning her identity she defined herself by name and by the fact that she was the "baby girl who was held hostage on the plane".

It's easy to define ourselves by the abnormal things that happen to us, for us, around us.

Or we'll even define ourselves by the mundane or ridiculous.
"What ruby stone are you?"
"Which Harry Potter character are you?"
"Which color of the rainbow are you?"
"Which ice cream flavor are you?"
"Which Biblical character are you?"
"Which celebrity are you?"
"Which cartoon character are you?"
Thank you facebook for your ability to define me so easily.

But our true definition, comes from an event that took place 2000 years ago that concerns us. Yet too often we minimize it and don't see our identity in it. And yet, it defines us far more than say, winning the lottery or a cancer diagnosis.
It defines you more than your rape.
It defines you more than your secrets.
It defines you more than your successes.
It defines you more than your money.
It defines you more than your Olympic medal.
It defines you more than your friends, or who you know.
It defines you more than your election Senator.
It defines you more than your addictions.
It defines you more than your past.

This one event eclipses anything else about you that you might assume to be important. Your looks, your car, your home, your kids abilities, your job.
It says you are the adopted child of GOD HIMSELF.
It says you will have eternal life.
It says you have access to the King who is able to do all things. The One for Whom nothing is impossible.
It also allows you to walk, and talk, and live your life in a relationship with Jesus Christ, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit as they speak into your life and lead you into holiness.
Because you once were lost, and now you're found.

So next time you consider who you are and what you're capable of - make sure you base it on the correct information.