Being His Daughter

A Reflection on the First Reading for July 9th, 2023:
​14h Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Zechariah
9.9-10

Thus says the Lord:
Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!
Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!
Lo, your king comes to you;
triumphant and victorious is he,
humble and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

He will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
and the war horse from Jerusalem;
and the warrior’s bow shall be cut off,
and he shall command peace to the nations;
his dominion shall be from sea to sea,
and from the River to the ends of the earth.

God addresses us as “daughter” in this passage, saying,  “Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!” This caught my attention because last month I started listening to the “Abiding Together” podcast series on “The Identity of a Woman”. Over 16 episodes, the three hosts, Michelle Benzinger, Heather Khym, and Sister Miriam James Heidland, delve into the four identities of daughter, sister, mother, and bride. Sister Miriam starts by asserting that identities “aren’t grasped at, they’re received” and that they “always exist in a relationship”. In relationship with God we receive our identity, and then (in knowing Him and ourselves) we can subsequently receive and live out our mission. “Daughter” is the first relationship that God gifts to women. In the continued discussion, they speak about how we, as daughters, are “the delight of the Trinity” and they ask us to consider whether we truly live out of the knowledge that we are beloved daughters. 

Through engaging with this topic through the series, and in my own journey in prayer and with scripture, I am now seeking to re-discover this identity of being a daughter of God. As a child, I feel that I knew intuitively what it meant to be beloved and to rejoice. My parents, through their words and actions, affirmed my goodness, encouraged my growth in knowledge and experience, and made me feel safe, known, and cherished. I knew how to have fun, to relax, and to be curious. Things changed for me as I entered adolescence, and for various reasons I struggled to believe that I was lovable. My joy and my freedom was lessened, and it was only in my late teens and early adulthood that I started to perceive how God loved and knew me as His daughter. He expressed his personal love for me through prayer, friendships, and faith-filled community, and I came to know how He delights in me. 

I am still working on prioritizing my relationship with God and remembering my daughterhood as I strive to live out my mission. Early in my faith, many of my evangelical efforts were made while I operated out of wounds of perfectionism. When I didn’t see fruit, my mind and heart would question in fear, “Is God frustrated with me? Annoyed? Disappointed?” Sometimes I still struggle with the lie that my value comes from how well I am able to share my faith or how many people respond to my invitations. When I am vulnerable and turn to God, He reminds me that there is nothing I can do to make Him stop loving me – because Love is who He is. The more He shares His identity with me, the more I understand my own and am enabled to joyfully proclaim the Gospel. 

May God continue to help us receive the beautiful gift of being His daughters, so that we do not doubt our inherent dignity and that we can courageously proclaim and share in his victory. Amen.




Kendra L

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