Do You Know Who You Are?

I love the music from Moana, but one song in particular speaks to my soul. Moana's grandmother gives voice to these words that I think have a much deeper meaning than what is portrayed in the movie.

I know a girl from an island
She stands apart from the crowd
She loves the sea and her people
She makes her whole family proud
Sometimes the world seems against you
The journey may leave a scar
But scars can heal and reveal just
Where you are

How many of us carry scars? Some are physical scars, remnants of injuries or surgeries. Sometimes they show adventures we've had or trauma we've faced. I think most of the scars we carry are unseen. Like the song says, those hard things we each pass through have the opportunity to show us where we are in our journey of life. Are we heading in the direction of happiness? Or down a different path? When the world seems against us, is that because of our own choices? Or is it simply due to circumstances of the human experience?

The song continues:

The people you love will change you
The things you have learned will guide you
And nothing on earth can silence
The quiet voice still inside you
And when that voice starts to whisper
"Moana, you've come so far"
Moana listen, do you know who you are?

Read those last two lines again, this time replace Moana's name for your own. You've come so far, do you know who you are?

My answer? Yes, I do know who I am. When I was a teenager and my dad would drop me off at any number of activities he would always say goodbye in the same way, "Remember who you are and that you're loved." This always made me smile. And it helped me to be mindful of who I was and that my well-being (physical, mental, emotional, spiritual) was important to someone.

I can't get through this section of song without tears because I have my own testimony of their truthfulness. That quiet voice, do you know what that is? Some people call it a conscience, but we know it by a different name. We believe that the light of Christ exists within each of us, it's that force that keeps us moving forward in times of pain and trial. It is even stronger than our scars. It reminds us of who we are, where we came from, and where we can go. It resonates when we hear truth and sings when we make good choices. That voice is real and powerful.

On Sunday, when Sophie realized it was Fast Sunday, she started asking if she could go up in front of the congregation and bear her testimony. She already did this in January and February so I thought we should save the opportunity for someone else. Every time she asked I would redirect, but that didn't work so well. Finally, near the end of the meeting, she decided to take matters into her own hands. She dashed away from me and bounced up the stairs to the podium. I caught up in time to hoist her to the microphone. Here's what she said:

"I'd like to bear my testimony that I know the church is true. Jesus loves us and I love Him. In the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

As I thought about Sophie bearing her testimony, I was struck by an eternal truth. She feels and recognizes the Light of Christ because she is a child of God, and she knows it. That spark of divinity that propelled her up the stairs exists in each one us. We are all children of God, whether we know it or not. We all have that spark, that voice, whether we listen to it or not.

When I say that I know who I am, this is what I mean. I'm a wife, mother, daughter, sister, granddaughter, aunt, cousin, friend, teacher, reader, singer, writer, but at the very core of my being I am a child of God.

Do you know who you are?