Feeling like you don’t just fit in affects us all sometimes. Sometimes that feeling of not fitting in involves church activities. One size fits all isn’t usually a good solution, especially for things that involve ministries.
Take a look at 1 Corinthians 12, for example. We all have different gifts, but it is the same Spirit at work in all of them. I think there’s sometimes too much of an emphasis on certain supernatural gifts associated with the apostolic area that it’s easy to overlook other gifts and talents that are with the Church today.
Another passage that comes to mind is Job 39:13-28, where creatures are given different abilities according to their place in nature. Obviously, both wild and domestic animals fulfill different types of functions from humans. Yet, this is a beautiful example of how different parts of God’s creation are given different abilities according to who they are and what they do.
A blogger recently shared about not fitting in during some social settings at her church, although she thrived in settings where she visited with the sick or in Bible studies. She just felt that she couldn’t fit in with a social group where the only thing she had in common was that they were all women and attended the same congregation. I think many of us might relate to that.
In prayer, she realized that the social setting was for some other group members, but not for her, freeing her from feelings of not belonging. We who are members of Christ’s one Body do belong. It’s just that we might have different ways of expressing how we belong.
May we always continue to go in peace to love and serve God.
