We all need to belong somewhere. It’s an innate desire from infancy. We crave a place where we feel safe and secure. And we make our home with loved ones, family and friends, plus groups, clubs, community and causes that are dear to our hearts.
This blog is one of my safe places on the internet. Here I can gather with fellow poets, writers and friends. It feels like my creative family. A source of support and encouragement, help and peace. A haven I miss when illness keeps me from staying connected with you all.
I’m not well enough to get to church, and haven’t been for years, so my spiritual home isn’t a building or place where people physically gather. Instead, church, in the sense of being the Body of Christ, is everywhere and nowhere in particular as well. I’m in touch with fellow believers around the world, who have a diverse range of expressions of faith, like I do myself.
We gather on the internet and via email. Our service to one another is to show love and care, have conversations, enrich thought, offer a listening ear and pray for one another’s needs. It’s a gift I am truly thankful for.
I wonder, where is the place you feel most at home? Who is your tribe, your people, your comfort zone? Those questions can be tricky to answer, can’t they? Depending on our circumstances and stage of life. So many people feel isolated, lost and alone, with no particular base and reference point.
Maybe they’ve become displaced, lost the physical home they knew before or lost the loved ones who anchored them there. Even if our circumstances differ, we can still feel fractured and out of sync with others at times. Such thoughts inspired the poem below.
Belonging
sense of belonging:
making sense of who we are
where we have come from
where we are journeying to
where we will make our home
we easily lose
our bearings and direction
give our hearts
to those who scorn or break them
resist acts of affection
perhaps we could
view life in another way
spiritually
note how we are created
to always seek after God
we see how he longs
wants us to be yearning
to be longing
a present continuous
act of obedience, faith
there’s nothing better
than to share our lives with God
come empty, dry
desiring to be filled
as his fountain rains on us
© joylenton
I’m happy to belong to the fabulous five-minute-friday community where we share our words inspired by a prompt. This week’s creative instigator word is “where”. You can join in here and read the great variety of posts being shared. 🙂
Poetry Joy 
Dear Joy,
I am so thankful that the Lord has joined us together in His Body, in a way that I never could have imagined. And it was precisely because of WHERE I was in my chronic illness path that your words and your heart became such a beautiful connecting place to see Jesus in my days. These words today touched me so much:
“we see how he longs
wants us to be yearning
to be longing
a present continuous
act of obedience, faith”
To think that He longs for us, and wants us to long for Him is just so amazing. And then to realize that this faith journey is a “present continuous” always leading us further and deeper into His heart is such a comfort. When I see how far I have yet to go, He loves for me to continue in that journey with Him. Thank you for the inspiration that you always bring here, my Dear Friend. May you be blessed with His Presence today! Much love and hugs from across the pond. xoxo
Dear Bettie, the feeling is mutual. Your friendship and soul companionship is such a sweet grace gift, coming at a time when we both needed the kind of support we could offer one another. It also amazes me to think how God actually longs for us with such an ardent heart. And then He invites us into greater depths of relationship with Him as we keep on taking steps of faith and trust. You inspire me far more than you can know. I’m awed by the work God is bringing forth from the hard you are experiencing, my friend. May we both seek to be more sensitive to His presence, leading and guiding, and His joy in us, just as we are. Much love and hugs to you too! Hope you are keeping warm in the harsh winter weather you are having across the pond. xoxo 💜
Reblogged this on Pastor Michael Moore's Blog and commented:
Belonging and Community… so important… thanks Joy ❣️
Indeed they are. And you are a precious, appreciated part of this community, dear Brother Michael! Thank you so much for sharing this post. Blessings of Sabbath rest to you, my friend! 😊❤
Dear Joy, I’m so glad God made our paths cross. I love reading your words. I always find encouragement here. I love this: “come empty, dry
desiring to be filled
as his fountain rains on us”
What a blessing to know He loves and cares! And it’s a blessing to have an online community of friends to share with. Blessings, love and hugs to you my dear poet/sister/friend! xoxo
Dear Gayl, oh me too! What a blessing your friendship is to me. I’m so glad you found some lines here that spoke to you. It’s because God loves and cares so much that He brings people into our orbit who we can truly relate to. Soul friendships are precious. Blessings, love and hugs to you too, dear friend! xoxo 💜
A beautiful place to belong!
Indeed it is! It’s good to see you here, Tara. 😊❤
Oh Joy…I really loved this post. So good to know I’m not the only one out there like this.
Hi Mitzi, I’m so pleased you stopped by, sensed a kindred spirit here and were blessed by what you read. It’s good to know the places where we feel like we belong, isn’t it? 😊🌼