Everyone knows when an Army soldier deploys, he or she never returns the same. To leave family, go into a war environment, and not be changed is impossible. I noticed the changes in myself almost immediately upon my return. I was largely without emotion before I left. When I came back, there were many things—especially things involving war—that moved me instantaneously.
I also came back with less of a sense of humor. I had always been the class clown and delighted in mischief. But deployment significantly tempered that. Was the “new” me an improvement or not? How would I adapt to a life that was different than the one I left behind?
When you see that a weighty and difficult life event has changed you, know that your new identity does not lie in those circumstances, but in your Savior. It is the saving work of Christ that changes your identity. No new developments could alter that basic fact. If you lose focus on that fundamental identity, turn your heart to Jesus who is shaping you and molding you into His likeness.