An opportunity for a little self-reflection…
This past June at the Collyde Summit I attended a workshop by Joan Ball.Joan is the author of Flirting with Faith: My Spiritual Journey from Atheism to a Faith-Filled Life.
She has a fascinating story that we’ll be sharing in the future here at Circles. Joan spoke with great enthusiasm. She was interesting and straight talking. What really struck me was her challenge to answer the question, “Who am I?” Joan said that we spend a lot of time figuring out how we are going to live out our unique calling, when really a better question is who am I in Christ Jesus? Who am I individually? Who was I made to be?
Who you are doesn’t change no matter where you are or what you are doing.
So if you’re standing in a Starbucks line or mothering your kids or editing a magazine, no matter what you are doing, you are still who you are. Maybe you are an encourager. Or you are wise and insightful. Or you are a helper. I love that! We even had a few minutes to share “who we are” with the people we were sitting next to us in the audience. I happened to be sitting next to complete strangers and we very quickly got to know in a nutshell who we were.
I enjoyed this exercise so much I decided to share it with my prayer group.
Soon after hearing Joan, I had an end-of-the-year brunch with my fellow prayers in our Moms In Prayer group. Some of us have known each other, prayed together, and shared lots of life together for over 20 years. I knew this would be a revealing exercise that could only serve to grow our bond and love for one another.
I think my beloved friends were a little surprised when I told them we were going to do a little devo/exercise together. This wasn’t part of the plan!
Here’s what we did:
1. I shared my experience with Joan Ball’s workshop.
2. One gal read from 1 Corinthians 12, regarding spiritual gifts. This was a great springboard for thinking about each one of our gifts and the importance of our individual gifts to the greater body. There was, however, complete freedom and encouragement to think outside of the spiritual gifts mentioned.
3. I posed the question, “Who Are You?”
There were some in the group who have thought about this question many times, so their answer flowed freely. There were others who weren’t quite sure. I assured them this was no problem. One or two of us who knew them well could help them figure this out.
This was a fun and simple exercise that proved to be enlightening and encouraging. We cheered each other on and got to know one another better. This got us all thinking, exchanging…and connecting.
Oh, and by the way, I’m a connector!!
Who are you? If you don’t know, ask a friend or family member who knows and loves you. And please share in the comments here!
One of you who comments, will win a $10 Starbucks gift card so you can meet up and connect with a friend on me!
Elise Parker has been married for 28 years and is mom to four mostly grown girls. She is a writer, editor, writing coach, and blogger. She believes we all have stories that matter--big life bios and small meaningful moments. Elise believes our stories are a reflection of God’s glory and are meant to be shared. They have the power to inform, reform, and transform. She loves God, familly, friends...and really likes travel!
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