You know what will rock your identity?
Moving from one community of people to another in a quick time, especially when the community of people are both your church family and your co-workers on both ends.
This same thing happened, a little differently, Â when I left SoCal and moved back to the Northwest. It’s not that I changed or anything, but it was like I was handed a blank canvas with the same paint and given the opportunity to paint something new. Get that? Same paint. The same foundation was there, but I got to make it look different if I wanted.
Two months ago I quietly left the church I was raised in. That denomination has a really strong identity – its own language and yearly events, global community, consistent program names, matching outfits – and then just like that, I stepped away. I moved towards a new group of people who already know and love Justen and started to squirm my way in.
A new canvas for my paint, if you will.
I keep thinking of this thought from the brilliant A. W. Tozer.
Rules for Self Discovery:
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What we want most
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What we think about most
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How we use our money
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What we do with our leisure time
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The company we enjoy
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Who and what we admire
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What we laugh at
Have any of you ever “started over” in a new community? Has it given you an identity crisis at all or is it just me? ;D
