Students gathered in the Gentile Gallery Thursday, Jan. 29 for prayer and the second installment in Jake Khym’s series on Identity. 

Khym began his talk by explaining that people are “allowed to be unfinished and unperfect, and you do not have to have it all figured out.” He called this the “process of identity.”

Khym used examples such as clay and the potter, plant and the gardener and a child and the parent. He emphasized how all of these examples revolve around a ‘caregiver,’ who helps to shape them into who they are meant to be. For human beings, this caregiver is God, who walks his children through life, guiding them every step of the way. 

Khym maintained that this is why focus on God is so important. He explained that life is understood as a “story of experiences” which affect one’s sense of identity. These experiences, both positive and negative, leave wounds, whether through the presence of bad or the absence of good.

These deeper, constant questions about identity and vocation cannot be answered if there is not first security in personal dignity and God’s love. 

Khym acknowledged that “our culture moves too fast to keep up with.” Khym says that it is important to slow down, allowing time and space to heal. In his opinion, this makes room for Jesus, who enters into and heals these negative memories and experiences.

“We let go in our littleness and weakness and let him tell the truth,” Khym said, “when we are in relationship with him, we learn how to love again, and we can be like him and bring life to others.” 

Khym explained that, in the discovery of identity, focus should be on the following five tenants: “resist[ing] self-censoring,” curiosity, new experiences, finding what is challenging and captivating and finally being attuned to the “micromovements” of the heart.

“Accept the process,” Khym reminded his audience, advising them to not take shortcuts and rest in the time it takes to truly self-discover.

Overall, Khym’s final words to his audience were to “look and listen upward, outward, and inward.” Listening upward means to focus on God, who is “the primary author of who we are,” and listening inward is an introspection into the voices of our hearts. By following these parameters, each seeker can discover his identity through God, who alone knows how each life should unfold.