Monday, July 19, 2010

Menemukan ketenangan


Tulisan ini saya peroleh dari blog women’s ministry di Calvary Church. Penulis mengingatkan saya bagaimana di tengah dunia kerja yang mendesak kita untuk menjadi go-getters, kita masih bisa menemukan ketenangan dan rasa aman hanya dalam Tuhan, seperti yang diungkapkan dalam Mazmur 62:5. Bagaimana ‘finding rest’ kita lihat sebagai sebuah ‘achievement’? Selamat membaca!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Becoming Dependent on God: Finding Identity apart from Work
Karen DeVries

“Find rest, O my soul, in God alone.” (Psalm 62:5)

“I teach Kindergarten, but I used to work for General Electric” is the answer I learned to give to the “What do you do?” question. Being connected to a corporation seemed more intriguing than being a teacher. My GE experience allowed me to tell impressive travel stories and reveal my worldly experience. A few years later I had to resign from my teaching job due to family illnesses. But I still clung to my work-related identity. When asked, “What do you do?” I would answer, “I used to be a Kindergarten teacher.” I still believed people were looking for the job answer.

I was raised to be a working girl with hopes of great achievement. I worked hard to earn high grades so I could get into a good college, get a good job, get promoted, get a house, get a godly husband, go to a good church, raise gifted children, connect with successful people. Go, go, get, get.

The words “Find rest, O my soul, in God alone” (Psalm 62:5) did not make sense to me until I was absolutely exhausted. I didn't think of “finding rest” as an achievement.

When I had to quit my job, I felt obligated to invest my time in other worthy projects. After years of pursuing one goal and then another, that was the only life I knew. I compared myself to other women and reasoned that it was best to stay busy and keep reaching for goals. That’s what everyone else did. Don't change behavior, just change treadmills.

We fail to realize how intertwined our identity is with our job, our tasks, or what we do for loved ones.

Leaving or losing a job, or facing any situation that involves loss, brings with it the compelling question: “What do I do now?”

There is no answer because God is more interested in who we are than in what we do.

Ultimately, we are daughters of the Creator of the universe. We forget this when we accept that our identity is defined by the tasks we do. We have a Perfect Father who loves us because we are His children. He's not impressed with our busyness or our societal success. He delights in our being.

So who am I without the identity of my job?

For me, finding my true identity means redefining success. Success is not receiving accolades from others for how much I accomplish. Success is finding the specific path that God intends for me and being satisfied with accomplishments that are not visible or measurable. My journey is unique. It is for God to determine, and for me to follow, without comparing myself to others, as Galatians 6:4–5 instructs us.

I still tend to dodge the “What do you do?” question by sharing an interesting story. But I am becoming more comfortable with quietness and stillness. I am seeking to obey God in “being” over “doing.”

Do you find your identity in a job, a relationship, or a set of tasks? Do you measure your value by comparing yourself to others? If so, how does this keep you from becoming the person God designed you to be?

How do you answer the “What do you do?” question? How might you answer it in a way that describes who you are becoming?

We'd love to hear your story.

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