Who am I?

I had lunch with a dear new friend today. Through our at times difficult conversation, I was reminded of a life altering truth, and I want to try to pass this on to you.
The last two years have been brutal for me; probably the most difficult season in my entire thirty-five years of life. Brutal. Suffocating. Eviscerating. As I left lunch with my friend today, I processed our conversation and realized that I had been identifying myself by everything that had happened: the shame, the guilt, the anger, the pain, the shame, the shame, the shame, the pain, in a never-ending burden that at times sucked the life out of my soul! I was stuck there, unable to move on, not knowing how in the world I was going to heal from that stage of my life. What my friend reminded me, however, was to remember who I am.
I am not cancer. I have cancer, but it doesn't determine who I am. It takes much of my time right now, but it is not my identity.
I am not depression. I struggle with depression and have hit rock bottom on a couple of occasions, but I am NOT depression. It is one of my battles. It does not identify me. It has made me stronger and has given me experiences that I can use in the future to help others.
I am not a failure. I have failed many times over, but I am not a failure. I have made some serious mistakes and have hurt people in the process. I am deeply sorry for those mistakes, but they do not define me.
I am not a reject. I have been rejected multiple times over, but how others see me does not determine who I really am. As I tell my children, if someone called you a hamburger, would you suddenly turn into one? NO! So if someone calls me a failure, a reject, a waste of space, why do I believe them? Those labels are not my identity.
I am not a writer. I express myself through writing, but should my ability to write some day disappear, I would remain myself. My identity is not wrapped in my ability to make words come alive on the page.
So who am I??

I am ultimately God's child.

Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God. John 1:12

I am a temple of the Holy Spirit.

Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

I am a member of Christ's body.

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. 1 Corinthians 12:27

I am complete!

For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. Colossians 2:9-10

I am owned by God. I belong.

Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 1:21-22

I am God's workmanship.

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10

I am made NEW!

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 5:17

I am not what I did. I am not what happened to me. I am not who people say I am. And you, dear brother or sister, are not what you did, what you thought, what happened to you, or what people called you! If you had an abortion, you made a poor choice, but that is not your identity! (new creation) If you had an affair, stole from others, or harmed your children, you made terrible choices, and they will most likely have consequences in your life today, but they are not YOU! (new creation) If you were rejected by others, even those who rejected you in "Christ's" name, that is not who you are! (God's child, His masterpiece).
Our pastor has been encouraging us lately not only to know the truth, but to see how it tangibly applies in our lives. So I want to take these truths about my identity and take them a step further. How does the knowledge of who I really am make a difference in my life?

Hmm...This is a tough one...I actually thought this mental exercise would come easier than this. What does this truth look like in my day to day life?

1. I am God's workmanship, the temple of the Holy Spirit. I don't belong to myself, so when I'm choosing what I eat, how I exercise, how I care for my body and my mind, I need to keep that in mind. What am I doing with the body and mind God entrusted in my care? Am I giving it the best care possible? And in light of my cancer, I can rest in the knowledge that He knows me intimately, since He created me. He can lead me to the proper care if He so chooses, or choose to put an end to the life He gave me. That is HIS choice, because I belong to Him. So I will do what I can to care for the body He created, and trust Him with the rest, whatever the outcome may be.
2. I am made new. That means I stop beating myself up with things of old, and old includes yesterday, or even an hour ago. I made mistakes. I made bad choices. They are covered by the blood of Christ and for me to continually carry them around is to spit on what Christ did for me.
3. It also means that when I meet new people, they do not need to know all of my dirty laundry right off the bat, and maybe not ever. And I don't need to know theirs. That is what we've been through, not who we are. It helped shape us, and there is a time and a place for self-disclosure, a time when others can benefit from it. But people can get to know me, and know me thoroughly, without knowing all the areas I stumbled in, or the trials I've been through. This one is HUGE for me!! I'm always terrified that people won't love me once they know the "real" me. Now I'm realizing that the person I was putting out there wasn't the "real" me either. It was bits and pieces of my life. Not ME. I won't hide what I've been through and what I've done, but I no longer need to advertise it either.
4. I am owned by God. I belong. Practically, this means I can stop trying to make everyone love me. I feel physically ill when I know someone doesn't love me. That can stop now. I am loved enough that God has claimed me. What others think of me or do with me will never change that. With this truth, I can walk with my chin up and brush off the hurtful words, returning to the ever-present arms of my Father, where there is always love, security and acceptance.

I hope you find comfort in these words. Know who you are, because covered in His blood, you are BEAUTIFUL!