Belonging

I hate stereotypes. I bristle at them. I groan inwardly at them. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I've been guilty of stereotyping, but for the most part I try very hard not to do so. Perhaps it is because I'm all too familiar with being stereotyped. One look at my life and you will see lots of opportunity to make assumptions about me. I'm a pastor's kid. I'm a middle child. I have red hair. I am a "born again" believer. I did not go to college. I homeschool my kids. I grew up in nowheresville. I don't have much fashion sense. I never had braces, even though I probably could have used them. Seems like every time I turn around I hear one of these things about my life stereotyped negatively (even if it is not directed at me). While this was definitely far more difficult for me when I was young, I still struggle with feeling like I just don't fit in. I'm abnormal. Odd. Inferior. And while we all struggle to find a sense of belonging, I think some of us feel it a bit more acutely.

Perhaps that is why I am drawn to verses in the Bible about belonging to Christ - and there are so many of them. They remind me I have a place. And my place is with the only One who will never make assumptions about me. He doesn't need to assume, for he knows me through and through. He loves me through and through. When he looks at me he doesn't see crooked teeth, out-dated clothes, or frizzy red hair. He sees his child. And when I remember this it makes all my insecurities seem so insignificant. After all, if God is for me, who can be against me?