I remember the agony of being on the hockey pitch, my lips turning bluer by the minute, shivering with cold, hoping to be picked. A blustery wind tore at my green pleated skirt, made my hair fly all over my face, and left me breathless as I tried out for a place in the team.

There have been several situations in my life where I desperately wanted to fit in or properly belong somewhere. Yet there were many closed doors, and they made me feel so inadequate. Maybe you can relate? It’s painful to be shut out, isn’t it?

My sense of not belonging began with my family of origin, where I longed to be accepted and loved for who I really was, quirks and all, but it didn’t happen. It’s a lingering pain which still hurts, but has been assuaged somewhat since Jesus came into my life and made me God’s adopted child by faith in Him.

“Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be in order to be accepted. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are; it requires us to be who we are.” — Brené Brown, Daring Greatly

Where you belong

You are seeking
a place in this world
which will greet you kindly,

a place where you belong,
accepted just as you are,
greeted with open arms unfurled.

But your searching
does not assuage the ache
you often feel within,

when rejection or disinterest
serve to make your soul
sink, your eyes well up,

your heart quake, and your faith
seem as insubstantial
as the very air you breathe.

What you cannot see
is the way it holds
you firmly, holds you fast,

like a solid soul support,
like the rock it is,
like an invisible thread.

Because it’s about more
than your faltering
self-belief, your uncertainty

over this and that,
for God himself
is the warp and weft of all

your days, and the one who
holds you up when you fall
or feel afraid. All you need do

is lean harder on him
and relax into your true,
God-given identity.

This world will try to steal
your peace, but you can
keep your head lifted high

because you are God’s child,
adopted by faith in Christ
set free to live a fuller life,

as you trust him to be strong
where you are weak,
because with him you belong.
(C) joylenton

Belonging  is such a vital part of being human because we’re made for relationship and connection, for loving and being loved. And when those things are hard for us in one way or another? Why then we falter, feel like a failure, as if we don’t really belong anywhere. But the truth (and Good News) is we do, and always have, belonged in the Father’s heart of love for us. 🙂 ❤

“I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.” — C.S Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle