Ever feel like you don’t belong here? My favorite band, Switchfoot, has a great song called, “The Beautiful Letdown.” One of the main lines in the song sings, “I don’t belong here.” That’s my theme song, I think. Sometimes this world seems so crazy that I just shake my head in disbelief and say, I don’t belong here. Anyone else?
I don’t think it’s a coincidence either that my name, Barbara, means ‘beautiful stranger’. The little name card I picked up in a store 30 some years ago says so. It also has a verse from the Bible: Deuteronomy 31:8: And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.”
And the Lord, He it is that doth go before thee; He will be with thee, He will not fail thee, neither forsake thee; fear not, neither be dismayed.”
Deuteronomy 31:8
Beautiful Stranger
What meaning does your name have? Look it up sometime and see if it doesn’t describe you. I feel like a stranger in this world because I don’t fit in. I don’t belong. My home is heaven. Somehow, I’ve always known that, even though I may not have been living it.
I’m different, that’s for sure. I’m not like most people. I don’t think like the rest of the world. I feel so out of place here sometimes. I’m a freak, I tell you.– A Jesus freak.
In my mind, I know what’s going on. I see people hurting, the mistakes they’re making and I want to tell them, “I know how to make it better.” That’s my personality, to try to fix everything, because I believe everything can be fixed –with a little Jesus.
I’m a freak, I tell you. I don’t belong here. I refused to get a vaccine from pharmaceutical companies who think it is ok to use aborted fetal cell lines and tissue for testing and vaccines. The lines between right and wrong have been blurred for so long. I believe abortion is murder. Did you know there are over 875,000 abortions every year? It’s way past overdue, in my opinion, to overturn Roe vs. Wade. –it may happen, but not without division and discord.
Superfreak
I feel like some kind of freak, I tell you. Am I the only one who feels a great sadness in the lack of God in other people’s lives and in the world? The sin and suffering of so many. I’m not judging. Believe me when I say there is more than enough sin in my own life. But when I see it in others and know that Jesus is the source of the healing and deliverance from that pain and suffering and to know that when I speak it, people will roll their eyes, not wanting to hear it, breaks my heart. Of all the stuff that people worry about, shouldn’t we be concerned about our salvation? Lord, have mercy on us all, I pray. We don’t know what we don’t care to know.
Have a Problem?
Do you have a problem that seems unsolvable? Want some help? Get on your knees and ask for God’s mercy and forgiveness. Give Him your problems. Put Him first in your life. Live your life as if He was coming tomorrow. Seek Him with your whole heart. Realize that this place is not our home. God has prepared a wonderful place for all of us. Our job is to make sure we get there.
Love God. Love others. Hell is a real place, just as is heaven. We get to choose, but we better make sure we know which one we are choosing.
Action Steps
Just start praying. Every day, ask God to be part of your life. There’s a book you can read. It’s been around for a couple hundred years.–the Bible. Start with the book of Matthew. Just start reading. Then find a church where you can be supported by other believers. Get involved. Don’t look for the perfect church, because there isn’t one. (I chose the Catholic Church–they have many problems.) Just find one where you can grow as a Christian and become a freak, like me.
Thanks for following along. I appreciate you. God bless.
