Do You Belong?

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Do you ever feel like you don’t belong? Even in your own family?

Belonging, belong, family, faith, Brene Brown, Braving the Wilderness, Maya Angelou, Jesus, God, love, life

Brene Brown, in her latest book Braving the Wilderness, recalls a defining moment in her life when she felt like she no longer belonged in her family of origin, which left her with self-worth issues and a crippled sense of well being .

I give her kudos for the way she honors her parents while sharing an incident that happened to her as she was growing up. She beautifully does so by giving them grace. She said her parents did the best they could with the skills they had. Isn’t that the way most of us navigate our own relationships? And as a parent, don’t you want to be given grace from your kids for the times you’ve messed up, especially when they’re grown and gone and are recounting the events of their childhood?

Yeah, me too.

I would venture to say that most of us have had those defining moments occur in our own lives. Those events that left us feeling like we didn’t belong either, perhaps even in our own families, just like Brene.

It’s never pleasant, unloading the baggage of negative feelings we subconsciously cling to from our growing up years, but by peeling back the layers, we are able to gain insight into who we really are and where we fit in.

Brene shares this quote by Maya Angelou: “You only are free when you realize you belong no place–you belong every place–no place at all.”

Brene stated that she wrestled with that concept for years before she finally embraced it and made it her own.

I beg to differ, with the greatest respect for both of these women of wisdom.

Dealing with old issues can be very freeing. But coming face to face with the love and saving grace of Jesus Christ is unparalleled. There simply is no comparison.

True belonging, eternal belonging, wholehearted belonging comes from accepting the truth and embracing the sacrificial act that Christ willingly committed on our behalf.

We are truly free when we realize we DO belong. Not because of who we are, but because of what He did.

This is true belonging; accepting, receiving and inviting the Savior into our hearts and lives. There is no better place to belong and no better family. Knowing you belong to something, SOMEONE, brings a sense of peace and comfort beyond words.