Hello, and welcome to Enbolden, living a bold Christian life. I'm Chris Shutter, an ordinary Christian living with and learning about an extraordinary God. Thank you for joining me on spending 30 days of praising God. Hello friends, my praise today comes from Galatians 4, 6-7.
It says, Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his son into our hearts like the Spirit who calls out Abba, Father. So you are no longer a slave, but God's child, and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir. For a long time, to be honest, I just didn't feel like I belonged. As a child, I didn't have a group of friends to hang out with, and my one friend, a neighbor that lived around the corner from me, well, she frequently left me out of activities with her other friends.
And when I got into high school, I felt more like I was on the edge of the group of people that I hung out with. Fast forward to adulthood, and I never just quite fit in with that boozy softball crowd, the gossipy PTA crowd, or even my Girl Scout leader gang. And to be honest, when I married, I was an outsider to a large and amazing and wonderful family. And once they openly welcomed me, but I couldn't share in like all the stories from long past because I never lived in the town they were all from.
My own family consists of myself and my parents, and I don't really see them very much. I spent a lot of time in prayer over the last few years asking God to work His changes in me that I could feel like I belonged somewhere, anywhere. And as my faith has progressed, I've come to realize that I first needed to accept being a part of the most important family of all, Gods. I praise Him today that He sees us as His sons and daughters.
We are His beautiful children whom He loves unconditionally. We belong to Him. That's been a hard message for me to soak in and accept. When I stand in the mirror, I've asked God to help me see what He sees, to love myself as He loves me.
No matter where else I may have felt rejected. And of course it's funny how God's ways work. When I focus on God's love, His gifts, and promises, the more I feel that sense of belonging. He places me with new people and new situations that He has prepared for me.
And I slough off all those old negative feelings and instead give all glory to Him who loves me and who draws me closer to Him. I recently heard a lesson about belonging. As Christians, we are admonished to remember our last name. Like children of our earthly parents, we are to go about our lives remembering who we belong to and who we represent.
That really hit home. When I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I became a part of that special family. One where I'm expected to remember my last name and act like I belong to the Lord most high. It's amazing how God gives us the next steps when He sees we are ready, when we start acting like He expects us to.
He brings in new people to our lives when He knows we can openly accept His new ways. I find myself so incredibly blessed by not only the women that have been populated in my sphere, but the men. Strong Christians who love people, faithful Christians who serve others, young, old, every race and quirkiness, and I feel like I belong. Have a blessed day.
I'd love to hear from you and find out more about how you are living out your old Christian life. You can find me on Instagram at embolden- minus the O or at my blog at embolden.net.