Guest Blogger: Where Do I Fit In?

Guest Blogger: Erin Sabo. Check out her blog at The Greatness of Grace

"Where do I fit in?" 

This seems to be the question of my life. From the outside I may seem to be a confident person. I can mingle in the crowd, hob-nob with fellow mom's, and find common ground with a patron at the supermarket. However, on the inside my heart still cries out with the same question from my youth… 

"Where do I fit?" 

Last week I struggled with this question as I formulated the plans for some upcoming ministry opportunities I have in the works. Yet again I found myself feeling left out and stranded. 

I was searching for my identity, but instead I was feeling awfully lost. 

I was on the phone with my Pastor, who was working through some details with me when he stopped and said something that hit like an arrow straight through my heart.

"Erin," he started, "Be very careful not to find your identity in this ministry." 

As I started to turn his statement over in my mind, it became clear. 

I was searching for my identity in the wrong things and looking for validation from people. Perhaps the question my heart was truly asking was, "Who am I?" 

And that's the question I hope you'll stop and ask yourself too.

My husband and I are beginning the laborious process of becoming foster parents. I am the type of person who plans all the details of our life, so I began to research foster care. I have read many stories, biographies, and memoirs of orphans and former foster kids. For years this has been a subject close to my heart. 

In all of this there seems to be an overwhelming cry of that same universal question, "Who am I?" 

This question may seem typical of an orphan; but I think it's the universal question in the heart of all of humanity.

“Who am I?" carries with it, "To whom do I belong?” 

It begs the question of where we find our identity. 

As a Christian, I understand that my identity is in Christ. I am His handiwork, I am His beloved, I am fearfully and wonderfully made, and I am bought with a price. Perhaps my feelings of not fitting in are because I am forgetting who I am, and to whom I belong. 

I’d guess that you have felt this same way in your life. 

Perhaps you are plodding along in life hoping you'll receive that pat on the back you've been working so hard for. Or maybe you're working extra hard to keep up with the Jones'. 

The problem is, there is always another set of Jones', and the grass will always be greener in the next yard. Your identity shouldn't be found in your things, and your worth is not defined by your achievements. 

This is the greatness of grace! If grace is earned, it is not grace at all! When it's all been said and done, your greatest achievement, is to be known by God. 

I hope this post both pushes, and challenges you to move towards the grace that is offered to you, and that you find your identity in God.  

If you enjoyed this Blog post and would like to read more, or follow my blog, please click here: The Greatness of Grace. My blog is about my life and my ramblings on faith and Christianity. Thanks for reading!