Definition

So I had one of my sweet, sweet friends come over this morning. It was fun and I feel so blessed for the wonderful people that the Lord brings into my life. I'm so thankful for the women in my life. Those I know well and those I don't.

Anyway. My friend, who is also named Rachel, was talking about a conversation she'd had with a friend of hers a year or so ago about being a mom. Her friend was telling her that she thought there was just something missing from Rachel's life, as a stay-at-home mom. As a homemaker. Saying that there just didn't seem to be anything that "defines you."

I've been thinking about this as I've gone throughout my day. What does that mean, anyway? What defines you? What a vague question! You define words. Not people. Nonetheless, I've thought about it. What is the definition of Rachel? What is Rachel?

I came up with lots of different ways to complete the sentence.

Rachel is . . .

flawed.

happy.

selfish.

unselfish.

funny.

annoying.

confident.

insecure. 

trying.

satisfied.

at peace.

a mother.

a wife.

a creator.

an accountant, maid, chef, interior decorator, laundress, chauffeur, gardener, painter, counselor, etc.

a teacher.

a Home-Maker.

LEARNING.

a work in progress.

human.

spiritual.

eternal.

Rachel IS.

So yeah. I could keep going. But I didn't feel like I had really got IT. As if there was something that ran throughout everything else. A common thread through my random, sometimes contradictory thoughts. What IS Rachel?

And you know what I came up with? It was the first thing that I thought of - and brushed off as cliche. 

Rachel is a daughter of GOD.

This knowledge is THE MOST defining part of who I am. It dictates my direction. It dictates almost all the rest of what I am, what I do, what I desire, what I sacrifice, what I gain. It is my most defining quality. It is why I can be at peace with my flaws. Why I continually try harder. Why I desire to be a mother. Why I feel JOY as a mother - as a wife - as a friend. 

It is the WHY behind all of my WHO. 

Sometimes, cliches are less cliche than they originally seem.