Along the road of life, I’ve served in variety of roles.  Among many others, I have been blessed to be called Daughter. Sister. Wife. Mother. Student. Mentor. Career Woman. Volunteer. Friend.

Some roles I’ve held for years.  Others I’ve simply passed through, such as Teenager to Young Adult to Mid-Lifer, or Co-Worker to Stay-at-Home Mom to Work Colleague once again.  And there are yet others I’ve become labeled with, like it or not, including those of Cancer Patient and Survivor.

The roles in which I’ve performed have come with expectations of all kinds.  While some of these expectations are true and real, others, I’ve come to realize, are simply imagined or even downright false.  And, a glance in the rearview mirror quickly reminds me just how much of an influence these roles and expectations have had on my sense of identity and self-worth.

As I travel along bearing the burden of these roles and expectations, the soundtrack of inadequacy plays over and over in my head.  Do I measure up?  Should I be doing more?  Am I letting others down?  Do I belong? The more I allow this soundtrack to go on, the louder it gets, and the more frustrated, fearful and insecure I feel.  And the less I remember who I truly am.

A few years ago as I continued to struggle with these questions, hoping the answers might be waiting for me right around the next bend, I suddenly found myself at the crossroads of midlife and crisis.  There I stood, me and my unanswered questions, at the point of a major life stage transition unexpectedly facing a life-threatening illness.

From there I was dragged down a dark path that turned into a two-year journey, one with cancer as my uninvited travel companion.  One filled with fear and uncertainty.  One that knocked me off my feet both literally and figuratively.  One including treatment-induced hair loss that stripped me bare, both physically and emotionally.  One that further threatened my peace of mind, my self-image, and my sense of self-worth.  One the world didn’t stop for.  One that left me feeling detached, isolated and depressed, silently drowning in my fears and insecurities. And one that left me with yet another question: Do I even know who I am anymore?

I recently embarked upon another journey.  A powerful journey of rediscovery with speaker, author, storyteller, and fellow cancer survivor Michele Cushatt, through the pages of her new book, I Am: A 60-Day Journey To Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is.  One that reassured me I am not alone in my struggles. One that taught me how to separate expectation from identity.  One that reminded me of who I am.  And whose I am.

I Am is a day-by-day, arm-in-arm journey to take back lost ground one truth at a time.  With real-life illustrations, rock-solid biblical teaching, and radical truths that will help you:

• End the barrage of negative self-talk with an empowering new narrative.
• Refuse to ride the rollercoaster of others’ opinions and start believing what God says about you.
• Stop agonizing over past regrets and failures and make peace with God’s sovereign plan for your life.
• Leave insecurity behind as you exchange temporary fixes for an identity established on God’s unchanging affection.

Ultimately, I Am reminds us our value isn’t found in achievements, relationships, or appearance.  It’s found in a God who chose us and promised to be with us forever.  

I Am Loved.  I Am Accepted.  I Am Healed.  I Am Redeemed.  Through each of the book’s 60 chapters, Michele shares her struggles, her fears, her pains and her insecurities through raw personal stories that spoke to my heart and my soul.  Her vignettes paint a picture so familiar and relatable, there were actually times I thought she was really telling my own story. Which makes sense.  For as Michele explains it, we are all part of a bigger story – God’s story. And this story gives us clues of who we are.  And we will only know and understand ourselves to the extent we know and understand the heart of the Bible.

As one whose soul hungers for peace from the noise and chaos of daily life, the chapter “I Am Hungry” was one that particularly resonated with me.  In it, Michele suggests our physical hunger is truly a “God-designed hint at a deeper, more serious hunger; a craving of the soul.”  One that we tend to push aside or try to satisfy with lesser foods.  One that can only truly be satisfied in Him.

The chapters of this book are short but full and, like a rich dessert, are best taken in slowly and savored bite by soul-filling bite.   I know I will be returning again and again to this book to feast on its words of inspiration, hope and encouragement.

Through the pages of  I Am: A 60-Day Journey To Knowing Who You Are Because of Who He Is, I am reminded that I Am Chosen.  I Am Valuable.  I Am Treasured.  I Am Wanted.  I Am Enough.  And oh so much more.  Thank you, Michele, for the precious reminder of God’s promises and for the reminder of who I am because of whose I am.

I strongly encourage you to consider taking this life-changing journey with Michele as well.