Who Am I?

My college students are currently studying perception and self concept and self esteem in my class. They are discussing the topics and they are writing papers about the various aspects. They are forced to view themselves and contemplate how others see them as well–at school, at work, at home and in other places.

The papers they write speak of confidence or lack of it. They write about how others may perceive them and how they perceive others. It is a complicated set of assignments that pushes them to think about how they feel about themselves and how they feel about what others may think. The rewards come as they complete the unit with positive comments from classmates in discussion that reinforce the brighter side of how they see themselves.

Identity is tricky. Who am I with family? Who am I with friends? Who am I in an intimate conversation with a close friend, spouse or loved one? Who am I at work? Who am I with God?

In younger years we may wrestle with the inconsistencies our identity may show depending on situations and the persons we are with. With age comes wisdom and with good fortune we find that our identity actually has many consistent behaviors. We are who we are! We are the image of God and the embodiment of his creation.

I will always be “me.”

That will bless God who made me.