What Defines You?
I mean, who am I, Really?
Some people say we are who we are when no one is watching, but God is always watching, which would mean we are never who we really are.
Others would make a list of all that we are: son, daughter, mother, father, daddy, mommy, husband, wife, grandfather, creature, creator, . . . which defines us by our relationship to others.
But, what is our most significant characteristic?
I have most recently added “widower” to my list of who I am. That seems like a strange word to me. I understand widow: a woman whose husband is deceased.
But widower?
It is derived from widow, but it doesn’t mean, one who widows, like farmer, one who farms.
That brings up another “you”, based on your occupation! Farmer, Doctor, Lawyer, Engineer, Minister, Nurse, Accountant, . . . the list can go on and on.
Let nothing define you,
Let all refine you,
But into what?
Sugar is too sweet, and Gold too expensive,
A mere person, too replete, Wisdom, too intensive!
To what do we strive, or to who to realize?
Is it just to get better, or to take home the prize?
Maybe to be God is our ultimate fate!
But that job is filled; you’d be but a fake.
Nay, none of this is good enough to waste life on,
We must find our purpose from our God alone!
We must live out our life with God on our throne!
It matters not what wealth we amass,
It’s only what’s done for Christ that will last!
---TJR
But all labels aside, we often become defined by the people we spend our time with. What matters to them matters to us. The things they do, we do if we are with them. When Christ changes our lives, and we begin time in his word, with his people, we become defined by His attributes. We often take on the label “Christian”, and we have been “hand-picked” for his kingdom.
Similarly, when we meet a wife, court and date, and marry, we take on the label “husband” and often become “hen-pecked” for her kingdom. Marriage does change a man, and usually for the better. But the Bible also says it divides our heart such that once we were able to focus totally on God, now our focus is divided.
But back to the subject: Where did they come up with “widower”? whoever they are!
.
Definition: A man whose wife has died and has not remarried.
ETYMOLOGY(shared with widow) : Middle English widewe, from Old English widuwe
It seems rather random that a widow is female and a widower is male, as the both seem derived from the same word, and the –er ending is not lending a standard meaning.
Anyone have any input on this?
