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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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I Belong
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Labels separate us into varying life situations. "Single." "Single, again." "Widow." "Married to a difficult mate." "Infertile." "Empty-nester." "Parent of a prodigal." Or, even labels like, "Victim. Misfit. Socially inept. Challenged." All of these labels, and still others, create a sense of "not belonging." Belonging and being loved are really two sides of the same coin, and they are both very basic human needs. Support groups for every felt deficiency abound, as well as social clubs for everything from quilting or scrapbooking to reading or touring historical landmarks. Gangs form when our young people, hungry for that sense of belonging, accept the norms and thinking of the gang, regardless of the moral or counter-cultural implications. Our need to belong doesn’t take God by surprise. When He contemplated the design of His creation that He would call "man," He wove a need to belong into the very fabric of our being. Why? He knew He would create the companionship of a woman to complete the male counterpart. He knew families would live together, grow together, dream, prosper, and celebrate together. He knew Daddies would bounce little boys on their knees, and become the first "date" for their teenaged daughters. He knew families would meld into communities and establish interconnections of care and protection. But He also knew that dysfunction, dissension, death, and even, unfulfilled dreams, would corrode the foundations of our need to belong. When our foundation is corroded, it is then we often discover what God has known all along. The ultimate purpose of God’s design was to help us find our "belonging" in Him. Through faith in the redemptive work of His Son, we become God’s children – children who belong to this One we call "Daddy." And all the perfections of fatherhood are seen and felt and experienced as our "Daddy" lovingly cares for us, believes in us, encourages and guides us, and never disappoints us. It is a belonging that can never be taken away from us. It is a belonging that can satisfy the most intense hungers of our heart, even if all human attachments are severed. God places His very Spirit within us to remind us continually of the bond that He has established with us. Because you are His daughter, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called children of God; and such we are. We belong. |
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— Bev |
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