A Place to Belong

\Find Peace in knowing you are accepted for who you are….

                            God’s Masterpiece. 

Earlier this week I had the opportunity to return back to Labette  County High School where I graduated from. Attending an FFA meeting in the Little Theater, checking out my old locker, and sitting in the Ag Ed classroom to eat lunch brought back many memories from my time there.

Walking back down the high school hallways, I felt so at home. For 4 years of high school this is where I belonged. The last time that I had been in these halls I was surrounded by some of my best friends, laughing I’m sure, and assured that I was accepted by the people I was with.

A place to belong…isn’t this what everyone is looking for?

We may actually spend our entire lives searching out a place to belong. For some of us we found it in high school, maybe in the lunch room (my friends and I had ‘The Lunch Table Club’), drama program, FFA chapter, track team, or cheer squad. And perhaps we feel most accepted at home with siblings or at our grandparents house for the weekend.

As humans we have a longing to be accepted and loved.

Being accepted and a part of the crowd boosts our self-confidence, we become more comfortable in our capabilities, and we think that we find contentment.

Belonging to a place here on earth brings contentment, but it doesn’t last throughout eternity.

Sometimes I fear that people won’t stop at anything in order just to feel like they belong. We hear the words peer pressure, subjective norms, or the ‘cool’ factors which seem like easy ways that we can find this temporary contentment. Perhaps these outlets do offer instant gratification.

But why invest in temporary joy, when God so willingly offers up eternal joy?

Eternal joy is offered to us as a free gift from God. Here in some of these Psalms God reminds us of the place of comfort that we can find in Him.

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.      Psalm 91:1

He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name.                                              Psalm 23:2-3

The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger, I trust in Him will all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of thanksgiving.                                    Psalm 28:7

We can know that God does offer us a place to rest and belong. It’s in His embrace. Seeking Him in His word and prayer, we can accept the gift of eternal joy He freely gives us. In His embrace, we don’t have to question if we belong or are accepted because we are God’s Masterpiece. We’re loved. 

As I was saying good-bye to many of my friends at K-State today, I had some time to realize how blessed I’ve been by the friends in my life.

These individuals came from all different aspects of my time at college. Some from campus organizations, others were faculty and advisors, and others were my coaches.

                                            What made this group of people so special to me is that at one point of time or another they made me feel as if I belonged. A true blessing from God!

Find contentment in knowing you are loved for who you are….

                           in God’s embrace.