"But, God," I wrote angrily in my journal. "Why does my group of 'friends' not care that I'm no longer part of that group?"
My heart hurt that I didn't matter in a group of friends I was a part of for 10 years.
I can't be mad at God, but I was mad at always being the person that people soon forget about.
"Katie," God gently reminds me. "You belonged in the group, even though they didn't realize it. The functionality of the body of Christ is not based on feelings. A piece of that group is now missing because you're no longer part of it."
"I don't get it," I responded. "How is a piece missing?"
God was silent for a second. Then he continued, "Think of hand sanitizer. You put on hand sanitizer and realize there's a paper cut there that you didn't know was there before. Your group is broken, just like your skin. But, your hand doesn't understand the sting until the hand sanitizer hits it. Your group of friends haven't felt the sting yet, just like that papercut hasn't felt the sting until hand sanitizer hits it. But, just because it doesn't sting yet, doesn't mean it's not broken. You belong."
I sigh in relief, knowing that God is going to use this to help me to feel like I belong in the church.
You belong. When you depart from a church, a group of friends, so on and so forth, a piece of the body of Christ is missing. You matter. The group is broken, because you aren't a part of it.
What helps you when you feel like you haven't felt like you've belonged?
My heart hurt that I didn't matter in a group of friends I was a part of for 10 years.
I can't be mad at God, but I was mad at always being the person that people soon forget about.
"Katie," God gently reminds me. "You belonged in the group, even though they didn't realize it. The functionality of the body of Christ is not based on feelings. A piece of that group is now missing because you're no longer part of it."
"I don't get it," I responded. "How is a piece missing?"
God was silent for a second. Then he continued, "Think of hand sanitizer. You put on hand sanitizer and realize there's a paper cut there that you didn't know was there before. Your group is broken, just like your skin. But, your hand doesn't understand the sting until the hand sanitizer hits it. Your group of friends haven't felt the sting yet, just like that papercut hasn't felt the sting until hand sanitizer hits it. But, just because it doesn't sting yet, doesn't mean it's not broken. You belong."
I sigh in relief, knowing that God is going to use this to help me to feel like I belong in the church.
You belong. When you depart from a church, a group of friends, so on and so forth, a piece of the body of Christ is missing. You matter. The group is broken, because you aren't a part of it.
What helps you when you feel like you haven't felt like you've belonged?