I live with a cat.

Here's the thing- it's an identity crisis. Okay, maybe it's not that dramatic. I highly doubt I am the only one that experiences this in life. It is the first time in my life when I truly have not be able to make sense of who I am. It's like everything in my life that I am doing doesn't feel like me. Recently, I have done some things that I have never done before- some of them I never thought I would. (Careful how you use the word "never")
I live with a cat. And I really like it! She's curious and funny and likes to play with me. Who knew? I dry my jeans. Women will understand this more, but for the first time ever I can actually dry my jeans because I need them to fit like they did when I bought them. I have lost some weight, and most of my clothes don't fit. This is more disconcerting than it sounds. I joined a gym. Yep, I pay to work out and I can watch TV while I run. I still try to run outside when it's not sweltering, but the summer heat can be deadly. I work on MS Excel more than Word. Numbers over words- ugh. While I am embracing these new things, there are also other things that I am struggling with. I am not in school taking classes that I love. I am not a part of a team or community. I have few responsibilities or commitments unless I decide to take them on. These are things I have known the majority of my life, and now without them I am trying to find who I am.

But it is true that my plans and ideas are not all that my life is going to be about. I am reading a book about God's purpose for women and His call for their lives. The call for Eve was to be God's image bearer and an ezer, a strong helper. Eve is not defined by her interests or talents or her place in life, but she was created to be an image bearer of God- one created in God's image. An ezer is a warrior as the Hebrews used the word. Because Adam was alone in this world, God created an ezer to stand beside him and face the challenges of the world together. Man and woman were created in this world to stand alongside and encourage each other. It is when men and women join together that His image is shone most brightly. No matter what place in life women find themselves, God has created women to be image bearers and ezers.

-Lost Women of the Bible by Custis James.

So it is not really about cats or jeans or Excel, but it is about becoming and being the woman God created. How hard it is to remember that daily.