Enjoy this guest post on IDENTITY & WORTH, a devotion written by my friend and fellow writer, Julie Sunne. Julie’s words spoke straight to my heart as a mom, and I know they will bless you as well.

I knew I’d be sad, but the intensity of my feelings surprised me.

This past month I followed my youngest on a four-hour drive to his chosen college. Two adult sons were already on their own, now our third and last one would be spending most of his time away from home. That left our 21-year-old daughter, who has special needs, to keep my husband and me company.

I cherished parenting my children. Now, no longer needed to fulfill a full-time mothering role, I feel a bit lost … directionless. I had equated my identity with being a mother. When that role lost its primacy, I lost my identity and, thus, my sense of worth.

We tie our worth to all sorts of things. Our vocation, whether we have children, whether those children are making good choices, the amount of our possessions, our health or fitness level, even our looks. But God has a different idea of what constitutes worth.

The Lord created us in His image and declared it good.

He stamped us worthy when He adopted us. And our identity as His children assign us value. Valuable enough, in fact, to be worth the death of His Son. “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, CSB).

Employed or jobless, a parent or childless, healthy or infirmed, young or old, wealthy or poor, well known or unknown … as God’s children, we all hold equal and great value in His eyes. But when we lose sight of our identity in Christ, our sense of worth becomes fragile, dependent on our performance or status in life. Then when life shifts—as it will—we face a crisis of identity.

I did. I became so caught up in being a mom, I forgot that first and foremost I am a daughter of the King. When “Mom” no longer required my full-time attention, my worth took a hit. Confusion about my purpose set in. I’m finding that the way back to stable ground is to review what God says about me and who I am.

I am loved. I am worthy. I am appointed. I am empowered. I am saved. I am a new creation. I am forgiven and redeemed. I am a conqueror in Christ. I am the Lord’s workmanship, fearfully and wonderfully made. I am a child of God.

If you know Jesus Christ as your Savior, you can make the same claims. Your identity far surpasses that of your vocation or station on earth. You, too, are a child of God. That makes you invaluable. Believe it, even when the biting winds of change try to tell you otherwise.

“For it was you who created my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I will praise you because I have been remarkably and wondrously made. Your works are wondrous, and I know this very well. My bones were not hidden from you when I was made in secret, when I was formed in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in your book and planned before a single one of them began.” (Psalm 139:13-16, CSB)

Father, we are honored and awed that You would adopt us as Your children. Forgive us when we place our identity elsewhere. Draw us to You, Lord, and remind us of our worth in Your eyes. Remind us of the truth of who we are as heirs with Christ to the Kingdom. Help us place our identity solely in You. In Your Son Jesus Christ’s precious name, Amen.

Julie Sunne delights in sharing about finding real hope in the middle of life’s real messes. Her own mess includes enduring multiple miscarriages and raising and now being caregiver for her 21-year-old daughter with special needs.

Her writing credentials include a feature in Celebrate Life magazine; guest posting for such online sites as Healthy Leaders, (in)courage, and Mommies with Hope as well as Proverbs 31 Ministries’ Encouragement for Today devotions; and feature and copy writing for local newspapers. You can find Julie’s self-published image-based devotional, Everyday Praise: Walking in Greater Peace, on Amazon.

Julie and her husband, Dave, are parents to a teenager and three young adults. They reside in Northeast Iowa where Julie loves Chai tea lattes, dark chocolate, books, and doing anything outdoors. Find encouragement on her website, www.juliesunne.com.

This week’s devotion comes from our special guest, author and Hope Coach, Carmen Horne. I know you will be inspired by her words! Let’s learn from Carmen how to release our hurt to the Master Restorer.

Do you enjoy watching home renovation shows on TV? I do. I start one, and there is no stopping until I have watched about three of them. It is exciting to witness the rebirth of something broken and unloved.

Often, I think, just tear it down. They are hopeless. Not worthy. Unusable.

Simon felt that way about his uninvited guest. She lived among the crumbled walls of failed relationships. The rubble of her sins, piled high for all to view. Simon knew her reputation and questioned Jesus’ discernment in allowing her to touch Him. When Simon saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!” (Luke 7: 39b NLT)

This brave woman ignored the stares and murmurs of the other attendees. She must have been nervous and so ashamed. The gift she offered Jesus, within her alabaster box, was her most valuable asset. Would He accept it? He will know how I earned this expensive perfume.

What the woman did not comprehend was that her most valuable asset was not the perfume. Her most valuable offering was the repentance that the contents of her alabaster box represented. She poured her pain and brokenness at Jesus’ feet.

In my book, Out of Words, we discuss our hurt boxes. Within each of our hearts, there are places we leave untouched — hidden. Maybe those places seem too dark, or they are too painful. The cost of our revelation seems too high. It was costly for our lady, also. She was willing to make a spectacle of herself to receive what Jesus had to offer — healing and restoration.

The pain our lady felt ran down her cheeks. Her tears were her prayers of repentance. Jesus gathered the pieces of her broken heart and spoke the kindest words she had heard from anyone in a long time — life-changing words, “Then Jesus said to the woman, ‘Your sins are forgiven...Your faith has saved you; go in peace.’” (7: 48,50)

Our hurt boxes are transparent to God. He gently exposes the places He wants to restore. He is El Roi — the God Who Sees us. He waits patiently, tenderly, inviting us to open our hearts and pour out our hurts at His feet. He understands the cost of releasing our hurts to Him. He paid a high price for our healing at Calvary.

Jesus doesn’t see us a fixer-upper or project; He sees what we cannot — women, whole and holy. Our prayer of release can be as simple as “Reveal and heal, Lord.”

Even when our pain and hurt is great, God’s mercy and grace are greater. He is the Master Restorer.

A Prayer for You:

Guide us, Lord, as we open our hurt boxes and reveal painful times. Help us to release our brokenness to You. Restore us, Lord! In the mighty name of Jesus! Amen.

Carmen Horne is a Board Certified Advanced Christian Life Coach, writer, speaker, and humorist who uses her gifts to encourage women. She is passionate about supporting women through life’s challenges as they learn to draw on God’s power and a dynamic relationship with Jesus to change their perspective on the unexpected.

Carmen hosts the Your Hope Coach podcast. She is also the author of Out of Words book and Grace Maps. You can learn more about her books here.

At the ripe old age of 16, the Bayou State native married her high-school sweetheart. They recently celebrated their 42nd anniversary and have one beautiful daughter. Carmen is a dark chocolate nibbler and beach sitter. But her favorite activities are those she participates in as a wife and mom.