Well, I found my way back to the lessons I was teaching my 7th graders this time last year. From the beginnings of the cruel world of middle school (I am saying this ironically since my degree is in middle level education) all students can think about is either standing out or hiding from the public. They either have so much (typically fake) confidence that makes them the stand out, or you have the people who will do anything they can to blend in with the crowd.

Once in high school, everyone gains a little more confidence and you find your ‘crowd’ or ‘group’ to which you fit in with. Each of these groups have specific characteristics that make them unique. There are certain qualities each member of the group portray. My favorite example of this is in the movie “Mean Girls” when they explain to the main character about the lunchroom with a diagram of the cliques.

Well, even as an adult there are plenty of moments when I just want to blend in with the crowd; feel invisible to people I pass on the street, and not wonder what they think about me if I’m looking a little less put together. Especially in Spain, I don’t want to be seen as, “that blonde American girl”. Before coming here, one of my concerns was if I would be ‘cool enough’ to fit in.

I don’t know if this came as a surprise to me, but I, in fact, am a blonde American. Those two facts aren’t changing. I was questioning myself as to WHY I cared about blending in. What made me want to be a part of the crowd? Then I realized “fitting in” is never achievable – what I was looking for was acceptance and belonging. If the focus is fitting in, it will always be done wrong. I will always find some (usually made up) flaw that makes me ‘stand out’. When in reality, I do belong. I belong to God as a precious and beloved daughter. Nothing I can do will removing me from my citizenship in God’s kingdom. God has embraced every part of me, and renews me daily. He finds no flaws, and wants me to treat others in that same way. That they don’t just fit in because they have cool shoes on, but that they BELONG. They are LOVED and CHERISHED.

In reality, it’s nice to not feel separated from the crowd, but Jesus was never really in the ‘crowds’. In fact, the crowds chose to kill Him. He had a “dangerous”, radical way of thinking that caused Him to stand out. Jesus teaches us that to belong, we won’t really fit in to society, because Jesus is the opposite of what society is telling us to do. When it would  make sense to turn to hate, we are suppose to love; when it makes sense to be angry, we are suppose to forgive. To belong to God might just mean we won’t fit it with unknown expectations society has for us. But God promises something greater: a home.

1 John 4:4: But you BELONG to GOD, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who LIVES IN YOU is GREATER  than the spirit who lives in the world.