I have over 600 Facebook friends, very few of whom I see on a regular basis. Most of the people on my friend list are from some part of my past, from some place I once lived. Fragments of me are scattered from one side of the state of Alabama to the other.
Recently, my Facebook news feed has been covered with You know you're from (fill in the blank) if you've ever... If you spend any time at all on Facebook, you've probably seen it too. Friends from all across the state have been posting to those walls like crazy. I find them interesting to read because I remember so much of what they mention. Yet I haven't posted on a single town's wall. I don't post the things I remember because of one little word: from.
I don't have a hometown. I lived a lot of places, but I'm not from anywhere. Home has always been wherever I lived at the moment. I've lived in my current location for ten years, but I don't call it my hometown. It's not where I'm from. Yet, I don't have a place to go back to either.
I attended a funeral yesterday, and on the ride home, I wondered aloud to my husband, I don't know where I want to be buried when I die. Jokingly I said, Maybe I should be cremated and my ashes scattered across the state.
I lack a sense of belonging. And it's bothered me lately. Seeing all the Facebook posts and attending the funeral have frustrated that lack of being from somewhere and the emptiness I tend to feel because of it. God knows that frustration and need I have to belong somewhere. Anywhere. And during my run this morning, a song came on I'd never before heard. God showed me where I belong...where I'm from.
If you lack a sense of belonging, listen to this:
I've dealt with this too, but not because I'm not "from" anywhere. I've just always felt like I didn't quite fit - the square peg in the round hole. Thank God we have a place to belong in Him.
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