Identity Theft

Good afternoon class, today I am going to talk about identity.

 The definition of Identity is – 

a: (noun) the distinguishing character or personality of an individual. INDIVIDUALITY 

b: the relation established by psychological IDENTIFICATION

This is a blog that I have been wanting to write for quite some time now. But I never really knew how to make this relatable and quiet frankly I am tired of using myself as a related example because I am feeling a bit conceited. So, I will be including two interview questions that I asked my friends Grace and Justyce, and their answers . The other day as I listened the first Podcast for upcoming and future World Racers, about Seth Barnes and how he came up with the idea for the World Race; the spark was reignited. The interviewer asked Seth this question and his response hit me hard. It had been something that I had been struggling to articulate to those who don’t understand why I am going on the Race or why I chose to change my plans so suddenly. The question was:

 What Can people expect on the World Race and what does the journey look like?

“I.. looked at my own life and there was a pattern there and I just wondered if the start of The Race, whether other people would follow that pattern, too. And God gave me like six steps and I thought, ‘Wow! Here’s the six steps that I went through and that others are probably gonna go through.’ I didn’t know how long it would take. Uh, the first step was the step of Abandonment. Leaving friends and family. Leaving preconceptions about how life is going to work and leaving the things that have defined your identity.”

Now, I know that no one likes abandonment. We down want to leave our comfort zones. We don’t want to leave our families, careers, friends or luxuries. We don’t want to leave behind a world that will, inevitably, forget about us once we are gone. We don’t want to leave our personal worlds that are encased with our successes. We don’t want to leave the things that “make us who we are”.

Why is that?

Don’t get me wrong, what we do with our lives is important. Goals and plans are important, but any of that outside of Christ means nothing….

Life would be,

Pointless. Futile. Fleeting. Temporary. So, why get stuck in a habitual lifestyle, that has minimal creativity and adventure outside of the norm? 

These are the questions I have been wrestling with for the past 2 years. As we get older, we go to college, maybe meet the love of our life, begin the career, get married, start a family. But what happens if you don’t want to do things by the book or in that order or on that list? Do we dare stray from the path of normal culture and want more for ourselves?

Since beginning my journey with Jesus, God has drastically changed my heart and everything that goes with it. Including one of my greatest desires and passions, softball. 

I have played this game for 17 years, spent countless hours on various fields, taken millions of reps. I dedicated my life to this game. But when I met Jesus I never thought that He would ask me to walk away from this jazz. As I grew more in my faith and closer to The Lord, I began to realize that softball was something that competed for my heart. It held me back from being who God was calling me to be. (Which I still haven’t quite figured out) I noticed that I spent more time on the field than I did with Jesus. I was more secure in who I was as an athlete than who I was in Jesus. I associated my worth with my performance on the field, thinking that I was only as good as my stats. I believed that this was who I was and who I was meant to be. I believed that this was my identity.

But God’s like, “That’s not who I say you are or where your value originates from.”

When Seth Barnes was talking about abandonment and said part of the first step was, “Leaving preconceptions about how life is going to work and leaving the things that define your identity.”  I FEEL THAT, since I have chosen to leave the preconceptions and the things that, “define” me, behind: my friends, my coaches, the wins and losses, the homeruns, the diving plays, the scholarship, the affirmation, the community and the love for the game, the lifestyle. I have allowed God to speak into my heart and tell me the truth about who I am and where my worth comes from.

Our identity is not in our failure or successes. Let’s not get caught up in the lie that we are who the world says we are according to our jobs, skills or status – as hard as that may be. Let’s get big and bold, leave the jazz that holds us back from being who God wants us to be. Leave the jazz that hinders us from serving others, sharing Jesus and building the kingdom like He commands us to do. (Matthew 28:19) And Begin to have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10)

Figuring out who we are in Christ isn’t done in the confines of our comfort zones, its done in the trenches of sacrifice and courage. It’s done out of faith, obedience and humility. Our identity doesn’t come from statistics, awards, promotions or certificates, it comes from God. Once we learn how to be “interruptable”, as Seth Barnes calls it, for Christ then we are able to do what He is asking us to do. 

I pray that this encourages future and present Racer’s. I pray that this encourages anyone at any point in their journey with Jesus. I pray that we allow God to steal our identity and make it glorify Him. 

For added encouragement; I had the opportunity to interview two incredible athletes who play college softball and compete at the Division I level. Their names are, Justyce and Grace. There are two responses that really stood out to me and inspired me. All three of us have different walks and callings, so these answers are not to be compared. But they are living proof, outside of my own personal life, that they are willing to live in abandonment when God calls them to and they have been or are working through their identity in Christ! 

Q: If Jesus asked you to walk away from this sport, would you?

Grace : If Jesus were to ask me to walk away from softball, I would do it. Athletics isn’t my identity. My identity is in Christ who generously and purposefully blesses me with athletic abilities to glorify Him. If he were to take those abilities away, He has another game plan for me to glorify Him so I will humbly follow and trust Him.

Justyce: If God asked me to walk away from this sport, I would in a heart beat. He got me here, with all of my best friends and coaches and it has been the best three years of my life so far. I have no doubt that whatever God calls me to do will ALWAYS be in my best interest. 

Q: Have you felt a new shift in your priorities and identity, since becoming a Follower? If so, how and what are they?

 Grace : My priorities and identity have definitely shifted once becoming a devoted follower. In previous years I never had the intention to live for anyone but myself and my family. Now, I feel like every decision I make reflects what God wants and what He wants for my life. Being in constant prayer has helped me to realize my priorities and the details that God wants me to find important. This has allowed me to live a guilt-free and regret-free life that I can joyfully live because I am at peace with my identity in Christ. 

Justyce : Absolutely. Before I made a change freshman year, I would just go about my days and not really have a purpose to my tasks. Even while competing. You would think playing softball my whole life I would know my “purpose” to playing, but nope. I would just go about my practices and complete my hitting, complete my fielding, and then go home. Of course I had goals and places I wanted to get to, but it was never anything deep enough to drive me to be better everyday. I went from going through the motions to dialing in my focus and having a goal/plan when going to school or practice throughout the day.

Thanks for reading this semi- organized blog post. I hope you liked it. 

All my love,

Mariss.