You hardly knew
how hungry you were
to be gathered in,
to receive the welcome
that invited you to enter
entirely…
Tentative steps
became settling in…
You began to breathe again…
You learned to sing.
But the deal with this blessing
is that it will not leave you alone,
will not let you linger…
this blessing
will ask you to leave,
not because it has tired of you
but because it desires for you
to become the sanctuary
that you have found…
- Jan Richardson
Think for a moment about your nationality, where is the place you feel you belong?
Where are you told, “You belong here”? What made you feel that you belong?
Many people living in South Africa face precarious citizenship status as they find themselves in between changing and or contradictory laws between their host and home countries, which do not provide them with the legal status or the freedom to belong. They face compounding social and legal barriers in their search for belonging.
This week of reflections will give insight into the personal stories of people living in South Africa searching for their freedom to legally and socially belong. Legally belonging is one part of our own sense of community, but as humans we all seek out a place where we are told, “This is home. This place is for you”.
Jan Richardson in her blessing identifies belonging not only as being a part of community put participating in expanding it.
As we glimpse into the lives of people in their search for belonging this week, ask yourself: Where is it that I feel I belong and how can I become a sanctuary for others?
