Belonging – Hope and Be.Longing

Belonging: Pete and June’s Story, Part 2

September 7, 2017

I’m sitting in the the living room of my friends Pete and June days before they celebrate 69 years of marriage, hearing their story. I’ve heard how they were raised in homes where Christ is the center, which is the foundation of their hope.

June and Pete’s childhood families loved not only the Lord but also wrestling. June’s dad took her to wrestling matches at the college from the time she was young, and Pete went to watch his older brothers. She remembers being a senior in high school sitting across from Pete’s family. Her dad pointed out Pete and noted, “He’s a good wrestler. We’re recruiting him.” June hardly noticed him at the time but couldn’t miss his mom, who was a short and stocky woman who swayed so enthusiastically while watching her wrestling sons that she pushed her quiet husband all the way down the bench during the matches. Pete still laughs about it, saying his friends would come not to see wrestling but to watch his mom. Continue reading

Stories of Hope, Belonging, and Longing

The Color of Belonging

August 22, 2017

My doctor’s office is purple. Bright purple. The receptionist’s hair is turquoise, or sometimes lime green.

Wearing blue jeans, blue shoes, and a blue shirt, I feel monochromatic as I rest in the orange stuffed chair in the waiting room. I observe a tank of tropical fish, the purple walls singing behind them.

Despite the contrast of the reserve of my outfit and the risk of the colors around me, I feel at home here. Like I belong.

Stories of Hope, Belonging, and Longing

Pancakes and Teenagers

August 22, 2017

I came home cold and tired from a long winter run last Saturday morning and there were five teens in my kitchen, four boys and a girl making pancakes. (“Norwedish” pancakes, because in my childhood they were Swedish pancakes, and in my husband’s they were called Norwegians.) I had to navigate through the pitchers of batter, syrup, powdered sugar, and strawberries to make my recovery shake.

I was thankful.

Teenagers need a place to belong, and we want to be one of those places.

It starts with a great relationship with our own teens. And it grows out from there to good friend choices. These two foundations are topics for another post but important to mention first.

Stories of Hope, Belonging, and Longing

Yellow Dot Stickers

August 22, 2017

She stumbled in and immediately dropped down on a bench.

She wiped tears from her eyes as she waited to be registered. The baby girl in her arms was bundled tightly against the cold, against the cruel world. I watched as her four-year-old pulled off bright pink gloves, welcoming the warmth of the church onto chapped hands.

Name tags in hand, we padded down the steps to the children’s area, one slow step at a time. I held tightly to the tiny hand of her daughter, dark brown skin now dotted with the round yellow stickers she had discovered on the ESL registration table.