Breathless Belonging
Do you remember being a high school or college student? Which group did you hang out with in high school? Or perhaps you were a part of a fraternity in college? Did you “Belong” in the group or did you “Fit in” with the group? Or what about your career? You show up for work every day ready to contribute, attend meetings and talk shop. Every now and then you connect with your supervisor or even the CEO and feel a sense of…something. Is it “Belonging” or are you “Fitting in”? After a long week a work, the weekend finally arrives and an opportunity to attend church. Looking forward to feeding the hunger in your spirit, you load up the car, walk through the church doors and feel like something is off, disconnected, not quit right as you offer a gentle smile and warm hugs. Something is off, not quit right, disconnected. In that moment you realize something is off at work, something wasn’t quite right in high school or college and all of it feels disconnected. Why? Because that’s what “Fitting in” feels like.
True “Belonging” and “Fitting In” are not what they appear, they are not from the same family, not cut from the same cloth nor do they occupy the same space. One requires a sacrifice of our Authentic self while the other offers an invitation into truth. “Fitting in” is a seductive chameleon masquerading as connection, while true “Belonging” is the atmosphere of Authenticity and Courage. True “Belonging” is impossible to find outside ourselves. It cannot be found in another person, another career, or church. Every source outside of ourselves comes with a prerequisite, a variable or ideological expectation to join. The payment required is the price of your authentic self. A small piece, a small price, for entry. The more your desire to “Fit in” the higher the price to be paid. Until one day, you wake up and wonder who is looking back at you in the mirror.
True “Belonging” begins with the One we Belong too. Sitting with Him, Encountering Him while at the same time He sits with us, encountering us. In those moments, those quiet beautiful moments, His sweet presence engages, draws and woo’s us into a heavenly divine romance with HIm. Just like falling in love, the lover of our soul captivates our attention, fully embracing us from the inside out as we find ourselves standing, kneeling or sitting breathless and in awe. This is where true “Belonging” begins.
For the Kingdom Creative, true “Belonging” is fully expressed when the Creator reveals His divine design and creative purpose to His created. True “Belonging” is complete when we see, acknowledge, believe and activate that which He has designed us for, to be His Kingdom Creative. While “Fitting In” requires the sacrifice of our Authentic Self, true “Belonging” only requires the sacrifice of “Self” (Matthew 16:25). And in so doing, we will discover true “Belonging” in who we are and whose we are without ever feeling pressured to “Fit in.”