February 27, 2019 - Inclusion

Anyone who spends any time around Tony Boyd and me, knows that we think it is VITALLY important to look for the people who may not feel comfortable in a room, and to help them feel at home. This has applied our whole married life, but absolutely does now as Tony is a campus pastor at a Life Fellowship campus. The "bad news" is that our church has a lot of people in it, so there's no way Tony and I can make everybody feel at home on our own. However, that is also the "good news." It takes an army to accomplish this - and I am thankful for so many people who "get it" and who look past their own comfort and take a chance on talking to someone they don't know. That doesn't come easily to a lot of people - but it is usually worth any "risk" you take!! When I read this today, just had to share it. Here are a couple of the most poignant quotes as well:

“Sometimes I feel like there is a group who maybe doesn’t really want me there. Sometimes I wonder why I wasn’t invited. Sometimes I walk up to a circle of people and I don’t know whether to force my way in, or be awkward hanging around on the outside, just twiddling my thumbs, kicking the dirt, talking to myself, waiting until I can leave and go home to the safety of my sofa.."

"You can’t be best friends with everyone. But you can notice everyone. You can make room for everyone. You can be kind and generous and thoughtful and sympathetic to everyone. You can smile to everyone. You can make eye contact with everyone. You can probably even offer a simple ‘hello’ to everyone."

"When you are out with a group, when you’re at a meeting, or an event, or a Bible study. When you’re at a kid’s soccer game, or a school function, or absolutely any public setting — lift up your unsuspecting head and look for the lonely. Chat with the new. Invite the introverts who will never invite themselves. Hug the hurting. Make room for more."

"We’re all guilty. We’ve all done it at some point. We’ve all been unaware, so there is no purpose in being mad, or angry, and there definitely isn’t any purpose in using it as an excuse to call people names, or tear someone down. Chances are, nobody is being mean. Nobody is being intentional. Chances are, they simply aren’t thinking, and we’ve all been guilty of not thinking before. But that doesn’t mean it’s okay. That doesn’t mean we should keep our blinders on."

"Make a U. Circles were made to be broken, but U’s were made to include everyone, to keep growing bigger and better and stronger. U’s were made for us all.”