To be honest I have never put much thought into the
questions “Who am I?” or “Where does the world come from?” In Sophie’s World by Hostein Gaarder,
Sophie was asked both of these questions. Sure I have wondered about these
things in my lifetime, however, it always overwhelms me. Who am I, and why am I
the way I am? If God created the Earth, then who created God? Has God just
always been, and if so, how is that possible? That is usually my thought
process before I call it quits because I feel as if I am trying to explain the
unexplainable. Now, I have come to realize these questions may seem, and very
well be, unexplainable, but through reasoning it is possible to formulate
ideas.
I am Madeline Claire Jaebker, and I am the daughter of Mark and Kimberly Jaebker. I am an outdoors enthusiast and a book worm. I would characterize myself as hardworking, disciplined, caring, yet worrisome and impatient. At the end of summer break I will return to North High School as a junior. Now I could go on listing more facts about my life and more characteristic traits, however, this doesn’t answer the question “Who are you?”
Like Sophie I could have been somebody else. If I would have been a boy, my parents had planned to name me Nicholas, after my uncle. Would this really have made me any different than I am today? Would I be more like my uncle? Honestly, I doubt it. I believe that I would still have the same personality traits, but my appearance would obviously be altered. I occasionally wonder if I am anything like my Aunt Madeline for whose name sake I have been given. My guess is we would share some traits because we are blood relatives, but not because we share the same name.
I was brought up in a home where there was always a belief in God, so God has always seemed like a very natural thing to me. I have never really questioned His existence, or placed much thought into how He was created. Recently, while viewing the Catholicism video series at my parish, this was the topic that Father Barron was tackling. Moses was pleading with God in Exodus 3:13-14 NIV Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” This is kind of how I feel about myself
In my eyes our world is an amazing gift from our God. This world we live in provides us with nourishment, beauty, and wonder. I believe in a world where God and science work together, because if they did not, we would not have been able to make all of the breakthroughs that we have in recent history. Doctors need God in their work – just as much as they need science. I know there are people who would argue that God could not create the world in seven days, and that is their own opinion. These same people might be believers in the Big Bang Theory, which is okay. There really is no way to prove one idea right or wrong. Maybe they are both correct. God could have possibly caused the Big Bang Theory.
So, I am Madeline Jaebker. I am a daughter, granddaughter, sister, student, and Christian. I believe God created this beautiful world we live in, and science will never have all the answers. I am who I am.
