Hello, dear one!
Have you been curious about the symbolic meaning of Jesus’ resurrection? How can we experience a rebirth during hardship?
As we began 2023, the news has been bombarded with massive layoffs and business bankruptcies.
Tech giants like Facebook have laid off 13% of employees which totaled 11,000 people. Both Amazon and Google joined the force and each cut 10,000 workers.
In my immediate neighborhood, a software engineer has invested 17 years of his life working for Facebook. A young man was finally hired by Google last year; this was his dream career.
Both men have received the company’s unemployment notice.
Standing where they are today, how can they reinvent themselves with new identities?
Have you ever paused for a moment and asked: Who am I?
Perhaps like these two men who were laid off, you’ve identified yourself with your name, race, color, physical traits, social roles, and job titles.
But, is that all you are?
Let me tell you a story of my father to show you how dangerous it is to latch yourself onto one identity.
My father has been struggling with his identity since retirement.
After dedicating 43 years of his life to the medical field, he was no longer referred to as a “professor” or “doctor” daily.
He lost access to the laboratory that he had invested more than half of his life to build. He became a nobody in his mind, killing time at home, in front of a computer screen.
He doesn’t have hobbies or interests other than his medical work.
Slowly, he became depressed and eventually showed signs of dementia.
Depression and dementia commonly coexist. Because deep in my father’s subconscious mind, there is anger resulting from his inability to accept reality and feeling hopeless about the future.
My father didn’t prepare himself for a new identity before retirement, and he hasn’t reinvented himself with a new one after retirement. He couldn’t see beyond his career image.
When the familiar image disappeared, he lost his identity and meaning in life.
After decades of working with people from all walks of life, I’ve noticed that this is quite common among many people who suffer from mental illness.
A dedicated mother suddenly plunged into depression after her last child left her nest.
A soldier became disoriented with a new civic life, as a veteran.
An entrepreneur lost purpose when the company went into foreclosure.
All cases shared one common problem: Identity crisis!
Why would Jesus remind us, “The kingdom of heaven is within you?” Because we’ve seen ourselves through the lenses of others, and we often judge ourselves not from God’s standard, but through human feedback.
Jesus witnessed how people sought external fame, fortune, titles, and physical stuff to fill up the empty inside.
With compassion, he warned us magnanimously, “But seek His kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well (Luke 12:14).”
That kingdom is no other than YOU, aligned with God.
Many years ago, when a reporter asked Jennifer Capriati, a young tennis player, “Do you want to be the next Chris Evert?”
Capriati replied, “No, I want to be the first Jennifer Capriati.”
In all her intense competitions, Capriati felt being herself was good enough to deliver her best performances. There was no need to identify herself with someone else.
Life is like a tennis game. If you want to win the game, you need to first ascertain who you are in God.
Everything God is, you are. God is unlimited, so you are.
A seminar presenter caught my attention and impacted me profoundly with this piece:
If I want to be FREE. I need to be me.
Not the me you think I should be.
Not the me my spouse thinks I should be.
Not the me my children think I should be.
If I want to be FREE. I need to be me.
And I better know who this ME is.
Wherever you are, and whatever you’re going through, the universe always has your back on this journey.
The less you’re attached to your human identities, the more you’ll open heavenly doors to God’s opportunities.
It takes courage to be the all possible you, doesn’t it?