Tuesday, August 22, 2006

A sense of belonging

A friend recently wrote me, "Do you ever feel thrown up in the air and not know where to land? That's how I feel, trapped in a time warp, not feeling like I belong here, or there. But God will show me where to land."

The question really got me thinking about belonging. For me, having moved around a lot as a child as well as an adult (I've moved 25 times, lived in 16 towns and on 3 continents) has caused me to adjust quickly to a new environment, to shoot new roots in order to survive. In some ways, I can feel like I belong just about anywhere. But at the same time, I don't feel like I belong anywhere! Which isn't an altogether bad thing...

In some countries (Kenya and Taiwan), they play the national anthem in the movie theatres as well as other concert halls prior to the start of the movie/performance. Standing and listening to other people sing their anthem often makes me feel really out of place.

I believe that it's very similar with being "in this world but not of it." We're supposed to feel out of place, like we cannot join those around us in singing a patriotic song because it's not our own country. I believe that we're not supposed to feel like we fully belong, since our home is in Heaven.

In that, I find hope.

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