Some thoughts...

So I guess it was last year some time I signed up to receive daily emails from Gary Henry. He has a few books out like "Diligently Seeking God" and "Reaching Forward" that I'm sure you have heard of. He has a LOT of amazing things to say, and when you sign up to receive his emails, you have a nice daily devotion provided for you each day. (He is really awesome and pushing you to go outside of your comfort zone.) I've been thinking a lot lately about relationships and how we treat each other, and this email that I got completely went along with some of the thoughts that have been rolling around in my head. Take a look. :0)

Belonging (December 11)

Posted: 10 Dec 2011 10:00 PM PST

“All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” (Paul McCartney).

MUCH OF THE SADNESS OF LIFE COMES FROM KNOWING THAT THERE ARE SO MANY LONELY PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. Too few of us are rooted in safe relationships. Too few of us feel that we belong to any certain place or group of people. The times are changing, and we’re in danger of becoming a world of strangers.

Yet there is still more belongingness to be enjoyed in the world than many people know about, and most of us have it within our power to help others have a greater sense of belonging than they presently enjoy. Indeed, one of the greatest acts of kindness is to help someone else feel more “at home.” The very least we can do is make them feel more secure in their relationship with us, but even with regard to their more general surroundings, it’s often possible to help people see that they “belong” to those around them more than they’ve been in the habit of thinking. It’s almost always true that people are wanted and needed more than they realize that they are, and it’s a wonderfully generous thing to help them see that welcome truth.

We do the best job of encouraging others in this area when we ourselves are secure in our sense of belonging. We can’t give what we don’t have, so we need to broaden our perspective enough to see the good ways in which we’re connected to those around us. We must learn to be comfortable and content in our own surroundings.

It can help us, as well as others, to see that the world is a big place filled with lots of interesting variety. When we think of belonging, if we have only one picture in our minds of a place where we think we could belong, then we’re probably going to be unhappy in the real world. The amazing truth is, however, that we’re much more adaptable than we think we are, and there are many, many different scenarios in which we might find the joy that comes from belonging.

The joy of belonging is within the reach of almost all of us, regardless of our external circumstances. Being a person who belongs is for the most part a matter of choice. Its requirements may be challenging, but they’re simple: awareness, acceptance, and appreciation.

“Joy of life seems to me to arise from a sense of being where one belongs” (David Grayson).

Gary Henry – WordPoints.com

So it might have been his opening reference to one of my all time favorite groups that caught my eye, but  really It is truly amazing how he really pegs us for how we are in our relationships. I've been thinking about this a lot lately, how we can be so consumed in ourselves and how we feel in our relationships that we forget to reach out to others who need support. The fact of life is that things don't always go your way, people don't always say what you need or want them to say, and people don't always realize that they aren't making you feel like you belong. It's something that I think we all have to deal with at one time or another. I have been thinking a lot lately on how important it is to focus on the person you are talking to at the moment you are with them, and then thinking later about things you can do or say to help them feel at ease. We were designed to be social creatures, and we all crave a sense of belonging. What I think slips our minds from time to time is that Jesus provided a way for us to belong to Him, to be loved and given guidance. We have so much from Him that provides security for us to reach out to others and give them that sense of belonging that we all want. I am guilty of being overly concerned with what people think about me or if they like me or want to be friends with me, but really I should be thinking of what I can do for others and how I can make another person feel like they are wanted and needed. I also know that from time to time selfish motives come into play where I don't necessarily want to make an effort to help someone maybe because of something they said or did, and that is definitely not the attitude that God wants me to have. I am ashamed to admit that, but I think things like that are not talked about as often as they should be. I love how he says that we need to be secure in our own surroundings to help others and how he says we must be comfortable and content in our own surroundings. His last thoughts are so easy to remember too, awareness, acceptance and appreciation. I hope that you all got something out of Gary's thoughts, I truly thought that this specific idea was just really neat, and something that we can all understand and improve upon. Just a few thoughts about Gary's thoughts!!! :0)


If you are interested in signing up for his emails, he has different categories of topics. This specific article was part of his Enthusiastic Ideas series, but he has others too. You can click on the link below to subscribe to his different series. Hope you find them useful. 

http://wordpoints.com/emails/