Where Do I Fit In?
GCD Newsletter August 14th 2024
The moments after you meet someone new are fraught with tension. You share a hi and a handshake, and now one of you needs to break through and ask the question that will determine the course of the conversation.
I find that I’m usually the one to do it.
That’s mostly because I have a genuine interest in others, but also because most people ask their first questions based on first impressions, and appearances. For that reason, most of my answers begin with some variation on the word , “actually.”
I’m well spoken, but working class. Well read, but not well educated. Well dressed, but all my clothes are purchased second-hand. I seem healthy and I’m anything but. I look far older than I am, my name is very odd, and whilst my writing style might lead you to believe otherwise….I don’t fit most British stereotypes.
It is like trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle, but constantly finding pieces that don’t fit.
This used to frustrate me to no end. I felt out of place wherever I went. All the while everyone else knew their place... Right?
Wrong.
The more questions I’ve asked, the more people I’ve gotten to know, and the more curiosities I’ve discovered, the more normally abnormal I’ve felt.
Thanks be to God that none of us quite fit properly. If we did, then we would never learn to compromise with those we love. If it was easy, we’d never to do the hard work of getting to know anyone new. If you were just like me, I’d have nothing to learn from you, or you from me.
I’d love to hear how you are different, and what joys has that brought you.
Grace and Peace,
Adsum Try Ravenhill is married to Anna and together they are passionate about seeing men and women discipled in the context of the local church. They live in Reading, UK and are part of a church plant that meets in the town hall. Adsum edits theGCD Weekly Newsletter and can be found through his writing at The Raven’s Writing Desk. You can find all of Adsum’s previous articles for GCD here.
What Was I Made For?
By Alistair Chalmers
Maybe it has something to do with being creative and influencing the world around us with something of ourselves. Someday I might write that book I’ve dreamt about or do that painting or experiment with that new recipe. Someday I might do something that shows who I am, and then I’ll feel like I should. Where can we find a source or an explanation that gives us belonging, dignity, soul, and creativity? Where can begin to find an answer to the question “what was I made for”?
How God Used Suffering to Teach Me It’s a Blessing to Give and Receive
By Eileen VandenBerg
Two days after my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia, I briefly came home to pack more things for the “long haul” at the hospital and found my friend in my kitchen. She was tidying up, emptying the dishwasher, and hauling freshly made strawberry jam to my freezer. She was gifting me with her presence and her time. She knew I would come home and see those things needed to be done, so she came and did them for me. Her presence gave us a few private moments outside of the hospital to talk about the fresh trial that had bombarded our family.
And let me tell you, moments like that with a dear friend are a precious blessing!