Usually when I share with people “who I am” I will start with the standard explanation that I am a wife and a mother, and talk about my work, and where I live etc., and you’ll probably notice that you do the same. However, this information really just gives someone time to get a sense of who I am underneath all of that. The truth is that the roles I play in my life such as mother, wife, employee, student, church-goer, daughter, sister etc. are things that I do, but they are not who I am.
Who I am at my core is actually a soul that God created and gifted me. The one I breathed in when I took my first breath after birth, and the one that will leave my body when I take my last breath out. Larry Crabb – a renowned psychologist and writer explains that “We must define ourselves by who Christ is in us, and how we can reveal Christ through us”, and just last week, one of my mentors, Clem McGrath, reminded me that “I am God individualised.” These are different ways of explaining that we are a part of God sent to live on earth for a short time.
This means that to identify who we are we need to draw closer to God and understand who He is. As we do this God reflects back to us the parts of him that He has chosen to show off in us. Perhaps He has gifted you creatively, or with empathy, or with intelligence, or wit. These things make you unique, and no one else has the same combination of giftings as you. You are a piece of God, and like a diamond with many sides you have been made to shine uniquely for Him.
So I want you to imagine that your soul is like the sun. It’s always there, always present. Some days it seems obvious and it glows like God’s glory, and then other days it is covered over by a cloudy sky. But regardless, clear sky or cloudy, it is always there, just as God created it.
Now I want to ask you: What are the clouds in your sky?
What blocks your soul from shining at it’s full potential?
Over our lifetime we tend to gather clouds through our trauma and experiences, but we can ask God to help us clear each and every cloud to reveal the glory of our soul. This is what it means in Matthew 5:14 to be “the light of the world” – to reveal your truest God-given nature to the people around you, such that they have no doubt that you are a daughter of God; created to reveal his glory to the world.
This is where we can use tools such as life coaching and counselling to help that light shine. Life Coaching basically uses exercises to help you grow your awareness of each aspect – the soul or the clouds. During a session you might be focussed on tapping in to your soul – what makes you glow? To come alive? To feel soaked in God’s pleasure? At other times you might be focussed on the clouds – what things have happened in your life that cloud your soul, and how can you release them and let your soul shine through?
My hope is that you will understand that you are a unique soul who is one with God, but that the clouds of life can get in the way. You can change that by learning to empower your soul, or clear the clouds. Either way, God’s glory will be able to shine more brightly from you during your life on earth.
Andrea x
Andrea Sergeant 