Brave Is The New BeautifulSýnishorn

Identity

I think the journey to discovering our true identity is one we walk our whole lives. Our understanding doesn’t always unfold in the time frame we’d like, but God is always at our side, urging us onward, holding us close to him.

I imagine God weeps when we try to be someone we are not and when we tell him who we are is unacceptable. We don’t speak up because it’s not okay to be seen as the one with questions. We try to change our appearance because we’re dissatisfied with how we look. When I was little I would watch quiet girls and wish to be like them because in trying to be like them I wouldn’t have to be me.

Sarah is an American with an important history in Vietnam; she is Vietnamese but can’t speak the language of her biological family. Where does she fit in?

As far as the question relates to her cultural identity, the answer is still working itself out. But when it comes to her identity in Christ, the answer is clear: she belongs in the arms of the God who created her exactly as she was meant to be and put her in exactly the story he wants her to experience. If our desire to fit in causes us to turn our backs on the fact that we belong safely in God’s arms, we might never experience a true sense of belonging.

God didn’t make me quiet and demure, and he didn’t make me to conform. He made me uniquely me, just as he made Sarah uniquely her. I know and believe it. I don’t try to be someone I am not anymore, and I can tell you for sure that not everyone likes the authentic me.

That’s okay. Sarah doesn’t pretend either. Today what she tells her children and helps other women try to embrace as well is this: “Be who God created you to be. He places value on you being you! It’s okay to look or act different from other people. Just be yourself and be strong in who you are. Be strong in God.”

I have found truly embracing who we are with all of our strengths and brokenness to be very freeing. When we each finally embrace this truth for ourselves, I believe God has a party and rejoices!