Women’s Ministry: Redefining Success – Let God Determine Who You Are
“.. you are precious to me… I love you and give you honor. Do not be afraid—I am with you! ” Isaiah 43:4-5
Wow, I have a tough time with icebreakers. When the group leader asks us to introduce ourselves, I start squirming and planning and rehearsing what I will say when they ask, “Who are you? Introduce yourself.” Who am I? Who am I? How do I determine who I am? What am I good enough to say what I am to these people? What if they judge me for it? Is it my family status? Wife, Mom of 2 girls, Daughter, Sister. Oh, but I haven’t been a very good sister lately. Yikes, it’s been a couple days since I checked in with my parents. Oh, I was really critical of my husband earlier today. I am not good enough to talk about my family status.
Is it my career? We own our own business developing apps primarily for Music or Community Festivals and State or County Fairs. Oh, I kinda slacked off today at work. I really should have gotten our tax info to the accountant. I am not good enough to talk about my career.
Ability? Cooking, Tennis, Pop Culture Knowledge. Wow, I did not win that last tennis match. I burned the chicken last night. I can’t talk about how good I am at either of those.
Possessions? Friendships? No, no, no. None of it is enough.
What if none of these really defined me. What if I let God determine who I am? What if I answered “Who are you?” by first reminding myself: I am who God determines I am, not the world.
I am Your holy, dearly loved child. I am. You are. We are children of God! What a powerful thing to say to ourselves. When those doubts and those questions enter our heads and make us question ourselves. Say it to ourselves and remind ourselves. GOD determines who we are and none of these worldly statuses matter. Every morning and every night. Every time the ear worm takes hold telling us “I am not good enough. I am not a good enough _____.” What if we said “I am a fully loved child of God.” That is doubt and insecurity that makes me question my successes and concentrate on my failures.
We are not defined by the way the world judges our successes. We are who God says we are fully equipped and empowered to be His children. Say it to yourself every morning and every night.
I mean, I’ll still squirm when I have to introduce myself to the group. But maybe, with each day I’ll more fully understand that I might say at a school meeting, “My name is Melissa and I am a mom of two girls, 15 and 21.” But that doesn’t define me and it doesn’t limit me and no matter what I say, it is all enough.
Heavenly Father, thank you for choosing me to be Your child. Take you for loving me completely, no matter my faults. Thank you for defining me as Yours. Thank you for equipping me with the Holy Spirit to be in this world and to be enough. Amen.
This month’s devotion was written by Melissa Abele, a member of Sheridan’s Women’s Ministry Team. Melissa and her husband Jeff have 2 daughters, Madalynn (21) and Lily (15) who have all been active members at Sheridan. They have been members at Sheridan for about 18 years. Melissa enjoys traveling, reading, music, playing tennis, and spending time with family.