Can you imagine canoeing by yourself for about ten days in the wilderness of Canada?  Does the idea excite you or scare you? Some of us are nervous when we have to drive more than an hour away from home.  But the fact that our AAA membership card is in our purse calms us down.

In 1676, AAA had not been established, according to my research. (LOL) And  Madeleine didn't have a cell phone, in case she got a flat tire, or more likely a broken paddle. So what did she do to manage the strain of her travels?First, she sets out confident because she knows her equipment and her skills are up to the task.  She then uses the time to wonder about her life. “I wanted to prove I was independent.  Perhaps being alone will help me clear up my confusion and draw me closer to God.”  (p. 172)Her thoughts go in two opposite directions. On one hand she wants to prove that she can live happily as an independent woman and does not “need” a man.  On the other hand, she muses about which man is the better choice for her – Tonato or Robert.Throughout White Heart Madeleine is searching for her identity.  She wonders whether her identity is tied up in a man.This  debate is prevalent in my life and the lives of my friends.  Can I be happy as an independent being, or do I need a partner to complete me? Since my divorce, I have chewed  so much on that question that my jaw is sore. Almost three years later, and I don’t know if there is a Right Answer.What is your opinion?  Would your life be better if you had a life partner? Or another way to put this:  do you agree that your life partner is making your life wonderful?

Author Tidbit

I do believe that everyone needs a sense of who he is as an independent person, someone who can stand on his own two feet.   Having a firm identity is important in life in general and relationship in particular.  But we don’t all have one. Let me illustrate this point:  I recently made a molded Jello.  Picture Jello in its various forms:  sticky granules when it is in the box; then a colored liquid when water is mixed with the powder. An hour later, there is Jello half formed into smush in the fridge, and finally chilled Jello is molded into some set form.

Think about the jello in its various forms as "identity". We all have the makings of an identity, but not all of us have one that is a firm mold able to hold its shape.  We may be anywhere else in the process of being formed.  Perhaps your identity is in powder form. or maybe it is liquid, or chilled smush.  Let me ask you: Where are you in the process of forming an identity? Are you powder, liquid or smush?  Or are you a well-formed mold?  

By now you are probably saying:  Enough of this Jello thing.  What in the heck is an identity? And why is it important?

Identity will be the topic for my next video-blog, so tune in on Friday!

Up Next: Wednesday's blog post on Chapter 18!

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