Belonging

I had a sleepless night last night. Extreme shoulder pain coupled with the fact I was afraid I would miss all 3 of the alarms set to wake me up for work in the morning kept me tossing and turning. As I was turning on the invisible rotisserie, God placed this thought in my mind.

You know how it feels when you really feel like you're in the wrong place and don't belong there or with those people? I've felt that way. I'm sure we all have. You can feel that way at church, in your neighborhood, at a party, at work...I've felt it in most of those places. Sometimes it doesn't matter if you "belong" there or not. Sometimes you're not there for the people. But when you spend more of your waking hours someplace than anyplace else, it helps to feel like you belong. 

Last year I worked in a place where I felt like I didn't belong. Yes, I made a couple amazing friends and am thankful to continue those friendships. I loved each of my students dearly and miss them greatly! However, I truly never felt like I belonged. There were luncheons I wasn't included in, meetings I couldn't participate in, decisions made that I had no part in. The name tag on my mailbox was scrawled on a strip of paper rather than neatly typed and printed like everyone else had. I just really felt like I was not in the right place.

On June 10, I began a job that I thought would just last for the summer. However, the sense of belonging has been tremendous. The manager and assistant managers know me by name (and have since day1 - even without my name tag on!) I've been included in morning meetings, celebrations of milestones, etc. My presence at work is valued and I feel appreciated. They made it easy for me to decide to work part-time during the school year. 

There's another place I like to feel like I belong - and know for a fact I in fact do belong! That's in the family of God. The good news is, God chose me from the very beginning. He just waited patiently for me to choose Him as well. Even when I walked far from Him, He never let me go. He stayed there just waiting for me to come back. Yes, it feels good to feel like you belong in your church, your neighborhood, your place of employment. But feeling like you belong in the family of God is priceless!

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1a