Focus on Truth and Love

"Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."
Ephesians 4:15–16

"We each have an important work to do in Christ's church. Do you know what your gifts are, what part you play? If not, pray about it. God's people, the church—which is the body of Christ—need you and your gifts. The more you speak the truth in love, the more likely you are to find ways to use your gifts. Focus on truth and love, and God will fit you with others so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love."
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions

Growing up, there were times that I felt that I didn't fit in.  I felt like an outsider - like a square peg being forced into a round hole.  At the root of this feeling was the fact that my family moved around every 3 to 4 years for the first 14 years of my life.  I'd make friends and start to settle in and then we'd move.  I was a painfully shy child, (believe it or not), and so it'd take me a while before I would venture out of my shell to make friends.  When I did make friends it would only be with a few choice people.  I wasn't very confident in myself or my social skills so I'd only befriend people after I learned to trust them. 

Though I outgrew much of this shyness by the time I entered high school, nonetheless, this shy little girl pops up every now and then.  She appeared once again in college and through my early adulthood.  I shied away from external friendships at times.  When I did venture out of my shell, it was usually with those I worked closely with or with those in my church 'family.'  Sadly, at some points in my life, I had more close friendships at work than in my church.  In some of the churches we attended early on in our marriage, my offers of friendship were sometimes ignored - or met with disinterest.  I wrote about my experience at one church in particular in a previous blog.  I just didn't fit into that church because I wasn't what they deemed godly women to be like - I read other versions of the Bible than just the King James and I was a career woman who worked outside the home.  This time in my life was the loneliest time I've ever experienced. 

However, I was to blame as well.  I know understand that instead of focusing on what was missing in my life - friendships and relationships with my church family - I should have focused on Truth and Love!  When we focus on TRUTH no matter the circumstances, then we will KNOW the WILL of our Heavenly Father! When we focus on loving others DESPITE whether they return that love, we are doing the WILL of our Heavenly Father!  If I had shifted my focus from how my church family weren't meeting my spiritual needs of love and fellowship and instead focused on HIM, I would've have been more fit for His service much sooner in my life!  If I had yielded to seeking HIS KINGDOM first and not been sidetracked by the hurt and the loneliness at that time in my life, He would have placed THIS square PEG in the SQUARE hole! I had it totally backwards! 

It took years for me to learn this valuable yet very simple lesson.  But when I finally learned this, God was able to use me far more in His Kingdom work than I could every had imagined!   
 
Focus on His Truth and His Love today.  Allow HIM to penetrate your life to the very core of your being.  Make HIM the priority - seeking the Kingdom of God first - so that all these things shall be added unto You!
 
Be the bigger man or woman - love the unlovable, seek Truth.  Focus on God and others -  and God will find the perfect fit for your unique talents and gifts in the BODY of CHRIST!   You are not an outsider but a much loved and important member of His Body.  After all, He created you for His great Purpose - He knows the hole that He created you to perfectly fit in! 

In His Love, Cathy