Tuesday’s Trench Lesson

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

We Belong To Him

Grab your beverage, a journal…and come enjoy Tuesday’s Trench Lesson with Lea.

There has been something in my heart and mind these last few weeks. Last week’s blog just touched on it when we discussed not judging others. This last weekend, we had a Sunday chool lesson from the New Testament and it spoke to my heart again! Acts 10:34 reads” “Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, ‘Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.’”

I needed help to really sink my teeth into this, so a sweet friend of mine helped me break it down.

In this life, we are striving to be perfect in Christ, and have his qualities. He does not hold any one person above another. We are all the same. We are all equal. In His eyes, we are all loved the same. In Matthew 18, it says He will go save that stray sheep, that person that made a mistake, the one who lost his/her way. He is right there chasing “the sinner” down with the same amount of love that He has for the person that is still on the path. That scripture continues to say that He will rejoice in that soul!

So we, striving to be Christ like, should be working to view everyone with equality. The “perfect” church member, the struggling family, the homeless person, the addict, the thief, the prostitute, the murderer, the person that left their child or pet locked in a hot car – I mean the list can go on. Our Heavenly Father loves us all the same. He wants us to love and accept each other the same as well. I am not saying this is easy. When you hear of a family that lost their father to a hit and run driver, it is hard to love that driver the same as it is to love that family and the one whom they lost. But we must find in our hearts somewhere the possibility to forgive and to love.

That is an extreme case to be sure. What about our everyday life? This is the topic that has been close to my heart. As I am in the trench, scooping out my dirt and pouring in truth, I discovered something about myself. I am very insecure. I have developed a complex so to speak. I feel like I am not as important as other people. I think that people don't really like me, don't really want to spend time with me. I feel like people are just being nice to me, and tolerating me. I do not feel like I belong in my family.

Let me explain that last statement. My mother has loved me unconditionally, and is the only person in this world that I have never felt “less than” with. I have let her down, and caused her pain, but she has loved me ferociously every day of my life. The family I do not feel part of is my father and his wife, my brother, and my sister. I know they love me, and I hope they know I love them, but I feel like an outsider. When we get together for holidays and birthdays, I feel like a black sheep that was covered in oil, rolled around in coal dust, and then was locked in a dark closet.

When I was in middle school, I didn't feel like I belonged there either. I was a minority, fat, and big-chested. I stuck out like a sore thumb, and hurt just as badly. In High School, I was awkward and again, didn't feel like I belonged. As an adult, I don't have many close friends. When I went to work, I felt like everyone had a secret that I just couldn't hear. Sure, people were nice to me, but I always felt like they were laughing at me, and didn't really care for me.

Even now, at church, you couldn't find a group of more loving and accepting people in your life! I feel like I am not good enough to be there. I feel like everyone there is so much better than me. They do not make me feel this way. I make myself feel this way. I am not sure of the root to this weakness, maybe it’s all of the ones we are learning about in the trenches of Transform; but I hope to be able to find it someday. Until that day, I will keep getting inspiration from the scriptures. When I read this scripture that we are all loved the same, it gives me hope. I know that even if I don't belong to any group here on earth, I do belong to something more important. I belong to Him. Casting Crowns sings a song called “Who Am I.” The answer is I am yours.

Hold comfort in the knowledge that He loves you, and you belong to Him. In the meantime, can I invite you to join me in the trenches of Transform? Our next session starts October 1^st; you have nothing to lose but the junk you carry!

Until next week,

I love you.