Belonging

A little boy was riding across town on a city bus.  He was huddled close to a very well dressed woman and was swinging his legs back and forth as little boys will do.  Accidentally, his shoes rubbed up against the woman sitting across from him.  She got upset and asked the well-dressed woman, "Would you please ask your son to keep his feet to himself?"  She hadn't seen what happened, but answered, "He's not my son.  I've never seen him before."  Embarrassed, the little boy moved to another seat, slouched down as if to hide, fighting back tears.  "I'm sorry," he told the woman.  Realizing what had happened, she responded, "That's OK.  Are you traveling alone?"  "I always travel alone.  My mommy and daddy are both dead and so I live with my Aunt Maggie.  When she gets tired of me she sends me to Aunt Elizabeth."  Feeling sorry for the little lad, the woman said, "You sure are young to be riding on this bus alone."  The boy piped up, "Oh, it's OK.  I never get lost but sometimes I get lonesome.  So, when I see someone I'd like to belong to, I sit real close and pretend they're my family.  That's what happened when I got your dress dirty.”  Hearing this, the woman moved over, put her arm around him, and hugged him.  All he wanted was to belong to somebody.  Don't we all!

In fact, we do belong to our heavenly Father – “This is my beloved son/daughter…”  And belonging to Him brings us into the fellowship of believers, where we belong and extend that belonging to others.