Fashioned for Belonging

A theme that seems to pop up often is “finding your people” and “belonging.” I’ve read some great books on the topic over the last few years as well, and to take it a step further, I’ve read about how to create community and to promote a culture of connection. We all want to belong. Lately, I feel like I have a just a deeper understanding of what that can look like. 

I used to have this idea that belonging meant being the same. And while belonging does have an element of shared characteristics, it goes much deeper than that. 

Belonging 

/bəˈlôNGiNG,bəˈläNGiNG/

Noun | an affinity for a place or situation

I think that 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, exemplifies this well with the example of one body made up of many members, and I encourage you to read the whole, chapter. But today I want to consider a few verses:

“But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose. If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.” 1 Corinthians 12:18-20. 

I used to think of belonging and finding your people such that, in terms of the passage above would be like the nose trying to find belonging with a group of other noses, or eyes only with eyes. Belonging is deeper than similarities. It is not being the same that makes one “fit” but the differences that come together having an affinity for a place or situation. We see this in the church, in teams, in our groups of friends. There are common borders and some similarities, but it is the differences that promote belonging. I have been guilty of thinking I did not fit because my gifting was different, or because my function did not look like what I thought everyone else did. I think we all have at some point. If you’re looking for where you belong, let me encourage you that your people might be closer than you think, and maybe, you, like me, were looking for the same or similar instead of the common borders and affinity for a place or situation. When you are functioning in your role and your purpose, it becomes much more clear. I want to share with you some of the beauty that comes out of this place. 

Recently, I had the opportunity to spend a weekend with many of the ladies from our team as we met and prepared to finalize the conference details. During my morning devotions sitting outside, I found myself noting multiple spiderwebs that caught my eye.  Immediately my mind went to how intricately woven those webs can be, just as is the pattern of our lives, and this team - this community. Diverse in background, generations, skills, experiences, perspectives, and much more, but eternally bound. (You could say, we have “an affinity for this place or situation.”) I thought about how our lives were woven together for this time and place much like a spiderweb. 

 But what is perhaps less known about the spider’s silk is the strength that it possesses within the beautiful and seemingly delicate fibers. This silk is strong enough that it is used to create surgical thread and artificial ligaments, and even bulletproof vests. It absorbs more energy than steel and its properties are difficult to create artificially with the same results.

This team, this community, this is where I found belonging in the real thing. They are beautiful, soft, and strong — bulletproof. They can stand against any opposition that comes. They possess the strength to assist in mending the broken and to help the hurting to rise up in faith and walk. They are intricately woven together for this time and this season. These ladies really are the dream team and the elements they bring cannot be artificially replicated. That is the beauty of belonging – it comes from the diversity but shared borders. While it might seem that I’m mixing metaphors, spiderwebs with body — your body is held together by the fascia, which is similar to a spider’s silk and is also stronger than steel.

When Jesus called his disciples, they were necessarily all the same or best friends. They had different jobs, and places in society. There were brothers and cousins, fishermen, a tax collector, and of other professions as well. They came from different walks, but they followed Jesus. They were bound together moving forward.

If you are looking for belonging, you might be closer than you think. Finding your people and your community is much more about where you are going than where you came from. I pray today that God gives you insight into your role and purpose and your value in the community that you are in as you follow Jesus.

You are fashioned for belonging and we are so glad to have you as a part of the PennDel Women community!