May 21, 2024 The Gift of Belonging
Tuesday, May 21, 2024:
Pause. Pray. Read. Be still. Write. Pray. Go about your day or turn in for the night.
Read: Acts 3:1-8, Power of Belonging
Peter and John were going up to the temple at three o’clock in the afternoon, the established prayer time. 2 Meanwhile, a man crippled since birth was being carried in. Every day, people would place him at the temple gate known as the Beautiful Gate so he could ask for money from those entering the temple. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he began to ask them for a gift.
4 Peter and John stared at him. Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gazed at them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 Peter said, “I don’t have any money, but I will give you what I do have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, rise up and walk!” 7 Then he grasped the man’s right hand and raised him up. At once his feet and ankles became strong. 8 Jumping up, he began to walk around. He entered the temple with them, walking, leaping, and praising God.
(Acts 3:1-8 CEB)
Gina worked outside the core operations as a trainer assigned to support my department. Her penchant for creativity and fun also left her operating on the margins of our organization’s reserved, buttoned-down financial culture. For me, the Holy Spirit compelled me to value how Gina challenged my direct, stick-to-business leadership style.
One Christmas Gina entered my office, shut the door, and placed on my desk a beautifully wrapped gift. I looked at her quizzically when she warned me, “It’s something unusual. I’ll explain after you open it.”
The bow and paper fell away to reveal a snow globe music box atop its round pedestal-shaped stage. Inside the globe, a ballerina sat on a soft-cushioned stool, readying herself to dance. I gave the globe a shake and snow fell gently around the ballerina to the tune of “Swan Lake.”
Gina reached across the desk to take my hand. “This is how you make me feel,” she began. “You let me be whatever and however I want to be. You let me dance.”
The man crippled since birth sat outside the temple. He lived on the fringe of society, too, begging for money to sustain his life. What Peter offered him was the Spirit-empowered gift of healing and inclusion. And the man danced.
Without realizing it, all I offered Gina was what God offers each of us — the healing power of belonging just as she was, to dance the dance God created for her. It made all the difference in her world, and she made all the difference in mine.
Be still and Reflect: Who sits outside the “gates” of our church property? Who in our families, workplaces, and neighborhoods can we empower to dance when we offer the power of belonging? The power to dance their Swan Lake, even though it may look or sound different than ours?
Pray: Heavenly Father, Receive my heartfelt thanks for taking me into Your household as Your beloved child. And with all the authority and power that Your gift affords me, help me to recognize the opportunities to do likewise with those You place in my path. Through the power of the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
By His Grace,
Gloria