Heart is where the Home is

Today I have been thinking about IDENTITY.  I have been asking myself, over the past couple years, who the heck am I???

I am Tarah Leah Severtson, formerly Tarah Leah Brennan, daughter, sister, wife, mother, woman.  I define myself as a Christian, a conservative, pro-life (R), who would really like to be considered an (I), but let's face it, to be an (I) is to be lost in a political dust storm.  No thanks, I'd rather stand on a side.  I work for a big corporation, have big dreams, want bigger purpose.  That's not who I am really, that's just what I do.

But who am I.  What do I like, what makes me tick...what makes me ticked off?  What do I want? Most importantly, who do I want to be?

What I have found is, I am just a girl (can I call myself a woman yet?) trying to do the right thing, go in the right direction, and in doing so leave a path for my boys to follow.  And that endeavor is a process.  I will never be perfect, I can strive, I can portray myself that way, but I will always be human and, until I die, subject to human frailty.

I have messed up in my life.  Some big messes, some smaller, but all of those disasters remind me of why I decide to be a Christian.

Jesus didn't come to give mercy and forgiveness and salvation to those who have it all together already.  He came for the messed up people.  He came for me.

Why in the world would a big, giant, perfect God want to do that.  He spans the heavens with his hands, why would he shrink himself to walk on the dirt, in our mire?

I don't know why he did, and I may not understand it, but I can accept it.  I can say, "Okay, that grace can fill the gap between who I really am and who I want to be."

Is there another religion whose god wants to dwell in the hearts of man, who will accept and love just because that's what he does?

If there is, I haven't heard of it.  I see religions that requires work, that expect people to strive to attain their own righteousness, or peace, or nirvana.  Jesus isn't like that.  He knows that we can do nothing on our own to be good, or holy, or righteous.

He just wants us to be us, and, if we ask, He'll take care of the rest.

  Ever feel like Jake?