This is Brentt Eads, Executive Editor of Line Drive Media, and we have a special treat for you here today as our Social Media Director, Grace White, takes the stage to share some important things she’s learned.

Grace has had quite the accomplished life, past and present, and on and off the softball field:

*** She played at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. from 2019 to 2023 where she was an accomplished lefty hitting first baseman.

*** As a senior three years ago, Grace started in 35 games where she batted .302 with six multi-hit games including a pair of three-hit games and had three home runs, six doubles and four triples.

*** A standout student as well, she was also a Gulf South Conference Champion Scholar and Academic All-District honoree.

*** Before that, she starred at Waverly Central (Tenn.) High where Grace helped lead her team to a 3^rd place finish in the 2016 state tournament and back-to-back district titles in 2016 and ’17.

*** The prep infielder was a three-time All-District selection, the District 11AA Player of the Year and also earned All-State honors in a high school career that saw her bat .400 with a .511 on-base percentage, collect 153 hits and drive in 123 runs.

*** Off the field, she ranked 19^th in a class of over 1,500 students in Homelife Academy.

Grace continues to shine in her current role with Line Drive Media and over the last 30 days oversaw us getting over 1 million views on our Instagram page!

In today’s column, Grace shares what’s helped her maintain her own individual identity and how her spiritual faith gives her what she feels is her “ultimate identity.”

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Identity & What It Means

In my 24-plus years, I’ve held many titles: daughter, sister, friend, softball player, student, girlfriend, coach, social media manager, writer, etc.

Some of these names have remained constant, and others were just for a season. However, something about all of these is that at some time or another I found my identity in them.

When I googled the definition of identity, the AI Overview said:

“Identity is the unique set of physical, psychological, and social characteristics—including name, personality, and values—that define who a person is or what a thing is.”

At some time or another, for better or worse, I have been defined by one or more of the titles I mentioned.

I’ll give a few examples:

• As Esther and Abigail’s sister, I want to be there for them always. I want to always be near them, and I want to support them at all of their games and events. And if I fail, I feel like I’m letting them down and like I’m letting myself down.
• When I was a student, I was always pretty smart, and I pretty much always made good grades. God definitely blessed me in that area, but when I didn’t make a grade that met my expectations, it tore me up, and I would dwell on it for hours on end.
• When I was in my first and only relationship, I was obsessed with him, and if I did anything that I thought hurt him, it would take forever for me to let it go.
• When I was a softball player, I would live and die with my performance on the field. If I had a great game, it would be a great day, and If I sucked, it frustrated me to no end.

I have been defined by my performance as a softball player, as a girlfriend, as a student, and as a sister… and that’s just scratching the surface.

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The Danger of External Distractions

Now, inherently, none of the things I mentioned are bad.

• I love being a big sister. My sisters are and always will be my best friends.
• At the time, I loved being a girlfriend.
• I loved the game of softball and still do.
• And I enjoyed it when I succeeded in school.

The problem is that I let all of those external things take over my life at times. I get so distracted by what’s going on around me that I don’t take the time to look at my own heart and figure out what it is that really and truly defines who I am.

This is me being real and vulnerable and honest. I think about a few months from now when it will just be me at home, and I wonder:

“What on earth am I going to do without my sisters?”

Sure, Esther will just be a phone call or six-hour drive away, and Abigail will only be gone for about five months but, besides college, I’ve always been just a few rooms away from one or both of them all of the time.

Who am I apart from them?

I look at all of my friends who are getting engaged and married and having kids, and I am so very happy for them. But I wonder:

 “Is it ever going to be my turn? Do I even want that? Why not me?”

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Where Does My Identity Truly Lie?

I think about softball as both a player and a coach. It has been a great teacher and has brought me so many friendships and so much happiness, but sometimes I wonder:

“Who would I be away from this sport?”

In college, my coaches always said that our identities were not in our sport, and I think that applies to all the things that I mentioned, so that begs the question:

“Where does my identity truly lie?”

The Sunday School answer would be God and what He says about me, and even though sometimes I think I’ve wandered too far, that answer remains true.

Psalm 139:13-16 says:

“For You formed my inward parts;
You knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are Your works;
my soul knows it very well.
My frame was not hidden from You,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in Your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.”

Before the world began, God knew me. He knew that I would struggle with all of these things. He has led me to where I am right now, typing this article!

In Matthew 6:33-34, Jesus says:

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

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He Will Never Ever Let Us Down

The truth of the matter is that setting my sights on Jesus gives me my ultimate identity. He never promised that it would be easy, but He promised to always be with me.

My favorite verse is Matthew 28:20:

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.”

My prayer for all of us is that we would seek Him first and that we would find comfort in the fact that He will never ever let us down.

I’m reminded of the following words from the song “Turn Your Eyes:”

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace

May we all experience the peace that only He can give and remember that “for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).

— Grace White/Line Drive Media