Sometimes we find ourselves existing in a moment that was designed just for us, a fit that is so close, so sure… it is a confirmation that we belong there. For most of us, these are few and far between… these moments of real in the midst of our “in life” existence. The In Real Life statement, rarely happens in a way that makes me want to capture memories. Because honestly, those pieces of the day can easily be overloaded with moments and responses I don’t always want to record.
How many moments are you filtering through, right now, that fall into that category of knowing you are exactly where you are meant to be?Are you counting and cataloging these #gracemoments to remember?
To belong is a compelling statement…
And it is a truth we all need to catch close. It is a promise that we all need to settle near. It is an invitation to be all that we are meant to be. And no matter where we are, what we have done or left undone; who we wanted to be, or the story we are trying to write for ourselves; the message of the gospel… the message of His heart to us is that we belong.
Right here, in the gift of acceptance that is His script upon our soul, a tattoo of grace inscribed upon His hand that reminds us of the joy He composes over us. He is the dream weaver, the hope giver, and the anointed healer of all we have left broken and incomplete. He is the essence of our today and tomorrow and yesterday that is the same, love built into our yes and our no and our everything in between, because no matter what we do we are not separated from the fullness of Him.
“The LORD your God is in the midst of you, a Mighty One, a Savior [who saves]! He will rejoice over you with joy: He will in His love, He will exult over you with singing.” -Zephaniah 3:17
To belong is a sacred covenant …
And there is grace in this promise of belonging… this place where a convergence of hope and providence blend. In a glimpse, when we look through this covenant He has sealed and stamped in red, we see who we are and why the struggles are working out His goodness, His sanctification, His plan. Grace in belonging, is too easy to believe, or so we think but…
When grace happens…it is then that we know we belong in the sacred space He has already provided for us.
A sacred space, founded on that covenant of love, is reserved for our heart friends. A safe place where grace lets us release our hold on perfection. The undeniable invitation to hope is the real, the holy, and the divine moment we know He has not left us alone. Proof reminding us that our days are inscribed by mercy’s pen.
And in the midst of this space I am becoming more aware of the way He ministers to the creative spaces within me. The reserved portion in the secret place deep inside is crafted to respond to the rhythm of his heartbeat, to the cadence of life he sings over us.
It takes a little courage to step into that space. The one that bears His seal and shines strong in you. It is stamped with a message that our hearts are built to receive: You are uniquely beautifully bravely His. You will always belong to the One who has made a way for you.
“My frame was not hidden from You when I was being formed in the secret and intricately and curiously wrought [as if embroidered with various colors] in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed substance, and in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them. How precious and weighty also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!”- Psalm 139:15-17
To belong is gloriously brave…
“Don’t let fear trap you from pursing life and letting the creative nature within, the curiosity that compels you towards passionate living and loving to be dimmed.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
And maybe, it is fear that keeps us from knowing we belong to a call greater than we can imagine. Maybe existing in purposeful contentment with full and weighty rather than the big and flashy indicatively names us rather than defines us. Because we are often misled by the glitz of being known by the world instead of seen, heard, and understood by the One.
Because when we are named we are more than known, we belong.
In the misconception of our need to be known, sometimes we lose the pieces of ourselves we carry close. The ones that were encrypted with the message grace carries. The truth He formed in the secret space of His love. We forget them when fear deters our purpose.
But the glorious brave is knowing that our purpose is in abiding, the red-stained sealed promise is that we were made to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Our destiny is closely connected to our place of belonging, to our essential self, to the design of the great architect of our soul. Because when you belong to Jehovah, you can never be removed from His grasp.
“For I am persuaded beyond doubt that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor things impending and threatening nor things to come, nor powers, Nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”- Romans 8:38-39
To belong is a perfect fit…
I spent a weekend away at the end of October with a friend. The kind that you do life with, the ‘in real life’ friend who has seen your upstairs and not judged the mess. Yep, we all need that kind of friend.
And we have spent the better part of a decade plus some raising kids and choosing good and bad together, hurting and praying and loving and living in the midst of real. And it reminds me of the power of being close enough to feel like you fit somewhere… like you are made for that space.
We sat close in an auditorium with thousands of other women waiting on words of promise, words of purpose, words of an eternal nature that became seeds in the soil of our hearts. We were reminded of the echoes we each speak into one another, shocked and surprised because we are seen by someone else, reminded that our identity in Christ lets us see what He saw first.
Because to belong is to realize that we were made for eternity, we were made for a together at the communion table of the saints, we were made for the wedding to the king and we ought to maybe all be carrying oil and flint to light one another’s lamps as we wait. Because when we know we belong it is easy to remind one another of the beauty we carry together. Friend, truly, if there is only one thing you take from these words today, let it be this…there is no better you than You.
“Behold, I have indelibly imprinted you upon the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before Me.” – Isaiah 49:16
To belong is a purposeful qualification….
Friends, when our lives are eclipsed by His love, covered by His cloud of grace, He lifts us up in that place of belonging. He sends encouragement, through His Word, by His Spirit, in His people in a way that opens our blind eyes and deaf ears. In the stillness, he redirects our eyes to catch the details of the time He is bound to redeem. It is about purpose. He qualifies us.
It is because of Him that YOU most certainly belong.
It is because He created you to do big things, good things, holy things. Those gifts only you carry, friend, the ones that make YOU shine bright, are the very talents that set you apart to show the world His goodness.
“The hunt to uncover jewels inside is creative living.” Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic
Dig deep to find the jewel you are. Rock the real you, bloom on purpose, set fear aside and unlock destiny. It doesn’t matter if it is big or small, size is not where greatness is conceived, but in the start of His promise the perception of your beauty is bound.
In the image of Christ in you and poured out of you, you are called to belong and to thrive. You are loved, you are destined, you are heard, you are seen, you are valued.
“…You are of God, [you belong to Him]… because He Who lives in you is greater than he who is in the world.” -1 John 4:4
IT’S YOUR TURN TO BE A GRACE COUNTER! SHARE YOUR GRACE MOMENT IN THE COMMENTS BELOW AND THEN COUNT GRACE WITH A FRIEND WITH COMMENT ON A BLOG OR TWO.
If you are a blogger, link up here with a post about finding grace moments in your life or one of your favorite inspiring and encouraging posts from this week. Share your thoughts in the comment section telling me about the #Grace Moments you experienced this week. *(only 1 post per link please)*
Take time to visit your neighbor next to you, and if you want visit a few more friends on the journey. We all need a little encouragement and affirmation as we travel together.
If you don’t have a blog, you can connect with me via my Journeys in Grace FB page by sharing a photo or a comment. Or you can join the party by sharing your images on Instagram with #Gracemoments hashtag.
Each week I will try visit as many of your amazing posts as I can.This is a safe place to sit and dwell in grace together, friends. I can’t wait to pour a cup of friendship with you and take in the grace moments you have to share. Don’t forget to leave a comment below, I love to hear from you.
Encourager-Sister Dawn – thank you for shining the light today on God’s deeply creative work that bubbles over in us, His creation. There’s so much more treasure inside each one of us than we can ever fully mine.
“catch close”…”settle near”… “belong”…Oh, Dawn, this is beautiful, powerful, and so filled with His grace. You have drawn me in and given me some fine words to fill in those blanks in the many questions I have about me, myself, and I. I doubt far too easily, yet I trust Him and believe that I am His. Satan has a way of sticking in my relationship with the Lord and I need to remember to tell him to get behind me…all of the time. Thank you, sweet sister.