These words were the last ones I said each morning as my son walked out the door for school.
They came after the “Do you have…” checklist and the “Have a great day” hug.
Remember WHO you belong to.
I said these words as he walked out of the safety of our home and into the day.
I picture them wrapping gently around him, a scarf on the good days, a forcefield on the difficult days.
When I began saying these words, he would step back into the house and wrap his arms around me. I would rest my chin on his head, squeeze extra tight, and say a quick silent prayer.
It is a sentence that carries the weight of history, his and mine. They are words that bring difficult days to mind and words that remind us that we are different people in the present.
We are different because we remember WHO we belong to.
These are words of growth. Words that we all need. Words to live by.
Sometimes we need these words because we feel alone. We weren’t made to be alone. We were made for belonging.
The Junior High years were years of growth for my boy. I picture the struggle of a seed pushing through its outer shell, inching through the dirt toward the warmth of the sun.
Years of growth can hit us at any stage of life. These are moments when we choose to push toward God’s truth or we let others sidetrack us.
It is so easy to get sidetracked when we feel alone, isn’t it?
Sometimes we need these words because we’ve pushed everyone away. We want to be free – however we define freedom – and yet we are not made for this type of freedom, or self-reliance or independence. We were made for belonging.
This was my story. Pushing all restraints away until freedom became a free fall. I was untethered, unsure of who I was because I didn’t really know WHO I belonged to. And trying to belong to anyone else doesn’t work because we weren’t made to belong to each other. We can’t carry each other like that.
But we can help each other remember WHO we belong to.
So, to the graduates in my life, to those at the beginning of a new stage, to those who need to begin again. To those who feel like you are floating along, who feel like you don’t belong. Lean in and let this truth soak in. You were made for belonging, and this is WHO you belong to.
You belong to the God who created the heavens and earth by speaking it into being. He is that powerful, and yet involved in the details of your life. He cares about you so much that not a hair can fall from your head without His permission.
You are loved:
God created and formed you out of love. He holds you in His loving and powerful hands.
He works events and circumstances for your ultimate good even when it is difficult to understand.
He rescued you from the power of sin and offers you lasting life.
You have purpose:
He has good works for you to do, and He prepares you for those works.
He invites you to participate in what He is doing in the lives of those around you and in the world at large.
Our school mornings are over, but these words still wrap gently around my boy-turned-man as he walks out of the house. He often stops, gives me a lopsided grin, looks into my eyes and says, “You remember that too, Mom.”
When he says this, I step toward him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He towers over me these days, resting his bearded chin on my head. I squeeze extra tight and say a quick silent prayer, thankful for the truth poured into the fabric of these few words.
Remember WHO you belong to.
I’ve created two printables to help remind you of these beautiful truths. Feel free to share with a friend!
