Child of God. Wife. Professor. Sister. Daughter. Friend. Follower of Christ. Singer. Writer. Sinner saved by grace.

All of these are things about me. Things that I love about the life I have been given. Things that describe me and what I do.

But there’s one more that never makes my top ten list:

CFer.

Cystic fibrosis patient (or CFer, as some call us). I’ve never wanted it to define me. I’ve never wanted it to be why I was given, or denied, a job. I’ve never wanted it to be a part of my resume, the thing people remember me by.

And yet, it is a huge part of who I am. A big part of my story, my scars. Something that God is using even if I don’t always put a name to it. It is a part of my story.

But it’s not all of my story.

I don’t run away from it, I don’t hide it. But it is not all of my story.

My story, like yours, is complex. It involves challenges, heartaches, tears, pain, difficulty and loss. It involves lots of grace, forgiveness, love, and joy. It involves grief and praise, love and loss, old and new all covered under the grace of our Lord Jesus. It involves people and places and things I can’t explain, it involves sin – and a whole lot of Jesus.

My story centers around the cross. The resurrection. The Holy Spirit. My story is still being written.

The words that define me, that I use to tell people about who I am – they reflect that story. They tell of a God who rescues, redeems, and restores. They tell of a God who uses even the most broken for His glory.

And yes, CFer is part of those words. It’s a part of my story.

What’s your story? What words define who you are? What story do they tell?