I Am...

"Because you're mine. That's why you matter to me," Eli, the woodcarver of the small wooden people called Wemmicks, said to Punchinello, one of his creations. (You Are Special). I wish I had understood that's how God saw me earlier in my life.

When someone asked me what I did, I also heard in that question, “Who are you?” I was a student. I was a wife. I was a teacher. I was a homeschooling mom. I was a computer trainer. I was a writer. As I’ve grown in my faith, I’ve discovered I’m so much more than what I do, what I believe, or how others see me. My identity solely rests in whose I am. I am a daughter of the God most high. (John 1:12) 

I still haven’t mastered resting in this identity alone but learning to understand that my identity is in God and living that out has changed me. Also, it has allowed me to slow down because it helps me to stop striving to conform to what the world expects me to be, which has given me the confidence to worry less about what others think about me. 

The quote from above comes from my favorite children’s story, You Are Special by Max Lucado. The Wemmicks go around placing dots or stars on the other Wemmicks. If you looked good or did things well, you got a star. If you looked poorly or weren’t good at doing things, you got dots. 

One little Wemmick, Punchinello, has such a hard time because he has so many dots. One day he notices another Wemmick, Lucia, who has no stars or dots. He asks her why she doesn’t have any, and she tells him she visits Eli every day so Punchinello goes to see Eli. Oh, that conversation is so precious between Eli and Punchinello. I don’t want to spoil it for you. You just have to read it for yourself. Nonetheless, after Punchinello talks with Eli and is walking away, one of the dots falls off of him. 

I think that story explains a lot about how I’ve been able to rest in my identity in God. The more I spend time with God in prayer, and the more I hear what he has to say to me through silence, Bible reading, conversations with other people, things that happen that confirm something being whispered in my heart, and the many other ways I hope to share with you over time, the more the dots fall off of me too. Not only do the dots fall off of me, the ones I try to give myself or that others try to give me don’t stick.

I want that so much for you too, dear friend. I’ve created a print out below of some “I am” statements of who we are in God. I encourage you to pick your favorite or find another in the Bible. Try to hold on to that verse somehow. You could memorize it, place it on a post-it note on your mirror, put it in your car, or make it your screensaver for your phone. 

If you find a way to keep reminding yourself in whom your identity is and see your Maker each day, I promise the dots will start falling off of you. The ones others try to give you or the ones you try to give yourself won’t stick either. I hope you can take to heart what Eli says to Punchinello, “Remember,” Eli said as the Wemmick walked out the door, “you are special because I made you. And I don’t make mistakes.” 

I am verses:

I am verses.pdf

Download PDF • 222KB

For further reading to remind you whose you are and to support this website:

Life of the Beloved by Henri Nouwen

You are Special by Max Lucado