When You Feel Like You Don’t Know Who You Are - Encouragement for Today - July 17, 2018

Peace and perspective from God's timeless truths. [View this email in your browser]( Encouragement for Today --------------------------------------------------------------- July 17, 2018 When You Feel Like You Don’t Know Who You Are [TRACIE MILES]( “God had already decided that through Jesus Christ he would make us his children — this was his pleasure and purpose.” [Ephesians 1:5]( (GNT) I arrived at my doctor’s appointment, walked up to the front desk to check-in and sat down to update the standard forms. Address correct? Check. Age correct? Check. Medical history accurate? Check. Marital status? Stare at the wall. Two little words stumped me completely. As I sat there in a cold waiting room filled with other patients filling out their forms with ease, tears began to well up in my eyes as it had only been a few short months since my husband of 25 years had walked out of my life. I’d been thrust into a life of total confusion, chaos and pain, and now had no clue how to answer this seemingly simple question. Was I single? No. Was I married? No, at least not in the normal sense of the word. Was I divorced? No. Was I widowed? No, although it felt like it. I was none of the options. So … who was I? A new moan of emptiness echoed in the caverns of my soul. As I held the incomplete forms in hand, I was faced with the reality that I didn’t know who I was anymore. Insecurities and heartache had wreaked havoc on my self-confidence. The old me was gone, and this new me was now merely existing, trying to survive each day. This new me was so broken she hadn’t even considered some of the shattered pieces yet. This new me was now unexpectedly having a full-blown identity crisis in a doctor’s office because she didn’t fit into any normal societal “box.” I remember thinking, “Who am I now?” and “Where do I belong?” Not just on this medical form, but in society, friendships, church and life in general? Who am I if I’m no longer a “wife”? As I drove home in silence after my appointment, I stared blankly at the road ahead, still struggling with this question of my identity. Suddenly the silence was broken when I heard a gentle, yet life-changing, whisper in my spirit: “The end of your marriage is not the end of you.” It was a startling thought that I believe could have only come from God, as He was the only One who knew my uncertain state. The only One who knew the depth of my struggle, and therefore the only One who could offer the exact reassurance I so desperately needed to hear. Sweet words serving as a holy reminder my identity is not determined by a role, a title or a box to check on a form. [Continue reading...]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( [Read about Salem Web Network]( | [Subscription Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( --------------------------------------------------------------- © 2018 Salem Web Network. All rights reserved. 111 Virginia Street, Suite 500, Richmond, VA 23219. This email is never sent unsolicited. You are receiving this email because your email address, {EMAIL}, is signed up to receive newsletters, updates, and special offers from Encouragement for Today. [Link](