i want to function well and healthily. personally and in society. i want to live deeply.

i will reiterate that as long as i live on this earth.

as i study cultures and humanity, i gain astronomical insight into our own culture, as Americans. speaking in terms of identity studies, much of American identity is based on one’s job/career. from the point in time that this idea entered my cultural database of knowledge, i have found it to play a role in countless conversations.

upon meeting someone, to make a situation less awkward, we seek to learn about him or her. so what do we do? the first thing we ask someone is “what they do” (meaning, of course, what his or her job is). or when so-and-so comes up in conversation (but is not actually present to defend himself) it is critical that everyone in the group know what so-and-so does for a living.

i will soon and probably forever be judged by what i do to earn a living. and certainly a person’s job may say something about their character or their identity. but it is not their essence. it cannot describe their soul. it cannot define who they are.

i’ve decided (and more for my own sanity) to personally discard this as a truth in my life. i’m calling a job like it is: a method of earning money. it is not who i am at my core, neither is it something to be ashamed of, nor seek personal glory from. i won’t do this perfectly, and surely there will be times i feel more or less embarrassed or seek more or less glory.
i have been known to desire to work at mcdonalds the past couple years. because i want to demonstrate that my job doesnt define me, nor does mcdonalds define anyone else.

as i get closer and closer to graduation, i ponder this subject often. i wonder where i’ll be and how i will earn money. but whatever i do, i want people to know that my job does not define me. perhaps it will be based on my passions and interests, but it still fails to lay bare my heart and Spirit.

i don’t see myself as functioning well or healthily filling my schedule and playing the role of busy career woman or mom or whatever, you can fill in the blank. as a culture we value efficiency and productivity and i certainly have those ingrained as values in my heart and in my head.

that makes it difficult to break free, but i see the harm that striving for “efficiency” or “productivity” can have on my life. this is not to say those things are bad, but when i believe that my day/week/month/year is a waste because i felt inefficient or unproductive, i can seriously miss out on some of the sweetness of life, love, family, friends, and Jesus.

it’s not worth it. and i hope others see the same thing. i mean it when i say that i absolutely do not believe we should let our occupation or current job steal our identity from Christ or who He has created us to be. and millions that have lived and are living today are a testimony of that fact.