Hats

I was thinking about how many hats I tend to wear in one day...and at times it is overwhelming... In a typical day I wear all of the following hats:

1) Wife - to my husband
2) Mother - to my kids
3) Daughter - to my parents
4) Sister - to my sister
5) Friend - to my husband and other friends
6) Colleague/Co-worker - to the people I work with
7) Employee - to my company
8) Realtor - to my customers
9) Chef - for my family
10) Laundress - for my family
11) Bookkeeper - for my family
12) Housekeeper - for my family
13) Runner - for myself
14) Taxi driver - for the kids
15) Baker - for the kids mainly (although I do cheat and have some occasionally)
16) Parent - to the teacher's at the kids school
17) Leader - for my current placement in the Junior League
18) Teacher - to my kids
19) Master - to my dogs
20) Customer - to the many retail stores that I shop at/with
21) Doctor/Nurse - to my kids/husband when they are sick or not feeling well
22) Patient - when I am sick
23) Home Decorator - when trying to keep my home beautiful
24) Nutritionist - for myself mainly - but also for the whole family so that we all eat healthy

I'm sure I can come up with at least 20 more hats I wear on a typical day.  Just today - I have worn 15 hats - all before 10am!  On Monday I think I wore all of the hats but maybe 1 (Patient).  No wonder I sometimes feel as if I'm going in 100 directions at once!  Not to mention the fact that sometimes I feel like I have a split personality...  One second I'm on the phone (wearing my Realtor hat) talking to a customer, and the next I'm correcting my children for arguing with each other (wearing my Mother hat).  Of course there are times we all wear several hats at once...for example - as I'm wearing my Chef hat, trying to figure out what we will have for dinner, I'm also wearing my Wife hat ("Will my husband like this meal?"), my Mother hat ("Will the kids even take one bite of it?"), my Customer hat ("I need to run to Publix to buy x, y & z for the recipe"), and my Bookkeeper hat ("How much money have we spent on groceries this month"). 

What I wonder about (and sometimes actually struggle with) is this: is the person I am while wearing the Wife hat (or Parent, or Sister, or Runner or Teacher, or etc. etc. etc.) the same person I am while wearing any other hat in my "closet"?  In other words - if someone only recognized me by my attitude and behavior and general demeanor - would they recognize me regardless of what hat I was wearing.  Am I being the same person overall in all situations or am I a chameleon that changes depending on whom I'm around?  I know to a degree we have to change a bit.  For example - I wouldn't talk to a customer when I'm in my Realtor hat the same way I speak to my dogs when I'm in my Master hat ("NO!  Bad customer! Bad!").   But am I holding myself and conducting myself with the same integrity and genuineness in all situations?  Am I ALWAYS wearing the MOST important hat under all the hats that I could possibly wear:

Christ follower.

It is so easy to get caught up in the day to day...heck...the moment to moment - and forget that in ALL things we should be trying to show Jesus' light through us.  Do I preach the Gospel as I'm trying to sell homes - NO.  BUT am I conducting myself in a way that the person can see Jesus Christ shining through me?  Am I being truthful and honest and genuine and fair and loving and forgiving?  In my interactions with people, would they be surprised that I am a Christ follower? Am I conducting myself and behaving in such a way that it contradicts what Jesus has taught us?  Or if someone found out that I am a Christ follower - would they say "I'm not surprised at all.  Amy didn't 'preach' to us, but she treated us with love and respect and kindness in all situations."

With my Christ hat firmly attached to my head (hopefully), I now must slip on my Bookkeeper hat and go balance our checkbook. 

Have a blessed day!