Loss of Identity
I walked with a friend the other day and found a Saguaro (sah-wah-roh) cactus blossom on the ground. The Saguaro cactus flower is the State Flower for Arizona. I brought it home and put it in a vase. It perked up, only to close up tightly later that evening and not reopen.
Many of us spend our lives with titles from our careers, for example, doctor, teacher, lab technician, and the like. Once we retire, we "lose" our title since we are no longer doing the work that aligns us with those positions. Sometimes when this occurs, people close up and aren't open to anything new.
As Christians, we are put on this earth to serve Jesus, Others, and then [Yourself] (JOY acronym). If we can focus less on our problems and circumstances and more on how we can help others, we will find more joy and be less likely to curl up and close down. When we feel we have had a loss of identity, whether through retirement, illness, or divorce; we need to refocus on glorifying God with our lives in whatever we do.
We were made by God with a purpose and path that He predestined for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). He made us in our mother's womb to be just who we are and will work to grow us all the days of our lives, unless we disconnect from Him and try to "do life" our own ways. If we choose to separate ourselves from the love of God, we will wilt from the heat of daily stressors, because we are no longer receiving "The Water of Life," Jesus Christ in our lives.
Many of us spend our lives with titles from our careers, for example, doctor, teacher, lab technician, and the like. Once we retire, we "lose" our title since we are no longer doing the work that aligns us with those positions. Sometimes when this occurs, people close up and aren't open to anything new.
As Christians, we are put on this earth to serve Jesus, Others, and then [Yourself] (JOY acronym). If we can focus less on our problems and circumstances and more on how we can help others, we will find more joy and be less likely to curl up and close down. When we feel we have had a loss of identity, whether through retirement, illness, or divorce; we need to refocus on glorifying God with our lives in whatever we do.
We were made by God with a purpose and path that He predestined for each of us (Jeremiah 29:11). He made us in our mother's womb to be just who we are and will work to grow us all the days of our lives, unless we disconnect from Him and try to "do life" our own ways. If we choose to separate ourselves from the love of God, we will wilt from the heat of daily stressors, because we are no longer receiving "The Water of Life," Jesus Christ in our lives.
Isaiah 40:8
The grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.
The grass withers and flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever.
Saguaro Blossom
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