Snapshot #1: I am the Daughter of a King

[As I start to write about my identity in Christ, my plan is to listen to God as I read the book of John. In John, Jesus makes seven "I am" statements. It's my belief that my life is hidden in Christ. When Jesus says, "I am," He's not only giving me insight into Himself, He's telling me who I am too. Rather than jump straight to the "I am" statements, though, I'm beginning in chapter 1. I don't have any plans for how much time this will take or how long it will get. I'll write until it's time to stop, until the message is finished, or God moves me on to something new. ]

Grey woke up a little while ago. He's currently sitting in his swing smiling at me and making noises, swiping at his toys or drooling. My boy's company is welcome.

Grey is my child. From the moment he was conceived, he was a part of my family and nothing he does or does not do will ever change that. He is my child. He is welcome. He is mine.

In John 1:3-4, God says that through the Word (Jesus), all things were made... in him was life.
God continues to make life. I think God rejoices in every life He makes. When I think about the feeling I had when I held Story or Grey for the first time- the weight of their little bodies, their sounds and movements. I could see, for the first time, they were their own little people, separate but dependent. It was joy.

God feels that way about me. The moment I was born, He gazed upon upon my smallness and knew that He had made someone separate but dependent. My life brought Him joy.

I am not just a created thing. I have always been created by God, I have always been loved by Him. But I did not always recognize Him or receive Him. But after His grace took me into one of the darkest corners of my life, my eyes opened and I could see. Since then, I have been a child by faith. And to those children, John 1: 12 says, have been given rights.

I have the rights of a child of the Creator of the Universe. I'll have to explore more about those rights in another post. But for now, I know this. I am God's child. Child of creation. Child of grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

And like Grey, I am welcome. Not only welcome, I am expected. When Grey woke up hungry, it wasn't a surprise. I expected him. I knew he would need me. Nothing feels more natural than bringing him to myself.

I am the daughter of a King. And nothing feels more natural to that King than bringing me to Himself. I am welcome. I am expected. Because I am His.