Although sometimes we may feel like we do not belong, we always have a place as God’s children.
Photo by skalekar1992
Deserved or not, lasting or temporary, major or minor, we have all probably had the terrible experience of feeling like we don’t belong. It’s an emotion to which we humans are all too susceptible and that we often struggle to shake. In “A Letter to a Single Sister,” Sister Sharon Eubank offers some ideas about overcoming these feelings. Although she is specifically addressing an unmarried woman who feels out of place in a family-centered Church, her insights have a much broader application.
One of the main instigators of feeling disconnected is the numerous ways we label ourselves: honors student, widow, gamer, introvert, single parent, etc. While these identifiers have value to an extent and in certain situations, they should not be our focus. Our most important label, the one that defines our identity, is that of a child of God. This means that we can always find belonging with God. By remembering that everyone is a child of God, it can be easier to focus on that quality and other similarities that unite us rather than on the differences that separate and alienate us.
Sometimes it may feel like God is not making space or time for us to fit in with him, but this is what the adversary would have us believe and is simply not true. God sees the past, present, and future, and he sees how we fit into them, how we want to fit into them, and how we would most benefit from fitting into them. As Sister Eubank said, “the Lord sees you,” and “He treasures you in all your quirks and individuality.”
Read more from “A Letter to a Single Sister” to learn about Sister Sharon Eubank’s seven thoughts in response to feeling out of place, geared especially toward those who don’t feel like they fit the ideal family mold.
Source: Ensign
—R. Maren Skidmore, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY LJCOR
Find more insights
Check out Sister Chieko N. Okazaki’s talk “Strength in the Savior” to learn more about finding strength and belonging with Heavenly Father and his Son.
Read “A Yearning for Home” by Elder Marvin J. Ashton for more insight into our inherent belonging in heaven.