Oh, the feeling of not belonging begins early.
I picked up my daughter from preschool yesterday, and I asked her my usual question, “How was your day?”
To this question, she usually gives me a thumbs up or a big grin. But this time, she hung her head and said, “No one played with me today.”
And my heart broke into a million pieces.
Sigh. It starts so young — the need to fit in, to be liked and accepted. And yet the reality is, sometimes you find yourself in a corner of a sandbox alone.
I’ve been thinking a lot about home, finding home — that place where you’ll always belong and never feel left out. That place where your voice is heard and you matter.
What is home anyway? The familiar frame of a little blue house near the California coast? The ocean breeze through your kitchen window? That love worn chair? The smell of crispy chocolate chip cookies and fresh banana bread?
I glanced at my sweet girl that warm early fall afternoon, took her little hand, and fought back the worries … knowing she will be okay.
But in my heart, I understood.
We are not home yet.
We are created for a house not made with hands … we are truly made to belong to Him.
‘Til then, I pray, that there is sweet comfort in remembering this and simply holding each other’s hands.
invited by grace 
This is so beautiful. You are right. I feel like so often I feel lonely and my heart just longs to be with God; completely embraced in his love. Someday I do believe I will return and enjoy living with Him. Thank you for this post. I hope that your daughter had a better day at school today. 🙂
Beautiful! I’ve written a couple of similar posts and it is just so true. We were created for a much bigger purpose than to belong on this earth. It’s nice when we do, but God is the only place we truly belong wholly and fully. Your daughter is precious and this post is beautiful.
I helped out at our church’s Good News Club last week and witnessed my daughter experiencing the same thing. It was heartbreaking. I guess everyone experiences it as a child and also as an adult. As you point out well here, this heartbreaking experience can move us toward putting our hope in our future heavenly home vs. our earthly home. A good opportunity to discuss our true hope with our children.