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I posted this in reply to someone else, but I felt led to share this here, as well.
I've been going to this church non-stop since I was 4 years old (I'm 16 now). I used to have a group of maybe 3 or 4 really great friends that I would hang out with, but then they all left, or kind of left me for another group of friends. And now, I'm pretty much that awkward, social outcast. I myself am not awkward, but the way people treat me make me feel awkward. Sure, people at church are 'nice' to me, but they only come to me when they need help with something, or they want someone to listen to them. Whenever I try to talk to them, they only listen politely like they've been raised to do. They generally try to avoid me, and when I talk to them, they seem to find a way to bring one of their closer friends into the conversation and somehow completely ignore me. I don't believe they do this consciously, but it hurts a lot. What I found that helps is one thing: hope. But not misplaced hope as it says in Proverbs 13:12 (KJV) ~ hope deferred maketh the heart sick.
I have often misplaced my hopes, and I still do. I have hoped and still hope that people will want to listen to me, that they will want to talk to me, and that they will respond positively to what I have to say. But that is hope deferred, and it results from fear. Maybe it's either a fear of being misunderstood or a fear of being alone. But in that case, my heart is believing a lie. God knows and understands me even better than I know or understand myself, and God is always there with me, besides me, in me, and for me.
What helps is when I don't hope that people will reply, but I have the hope that God will reply to me. That God is always there for me, that God always wants me. And this hope follows faith. God is the one that cares for me. And it's hardly possible to be accepted by everyone. We've all got issues.
Many Blessings,
~1Overcomer
I've been going to this church non-stop since I was 4 years old (I'm 16 now). I used to have a group of maybe 3 or 4 really great friends that I would hang out with, but then they all left, or kind of left me for another group of friends. And now, I'm pretty much that awkward, social outcast. I myself am not awkward, but the way people treat me make me feel awkward. Sure, people at church are 'nice' to me, but they only come to me when they need help with something, or they want someone to listen to them. Whenever I try to talk to them, they only listen politely like they've been raised to do. They generally try to avoid me, and when I talk to them, they seem to find a way to bring one of their closer friends into the conversation and somehow completely ignore me. I don't believe they do this consciously, but it hurts a lot. What I found that helps is one thing: hope. But not misplaced hope as it says in Proverbs 13:12 (KJV) ~ hope deferred maketh the heart sick.
I have often misplaced my hopes, and I still do. I have hoped and still hope that people will want to listen to me, that they will want to talk to me, and that they will respond positively to what I have to say. But that is hope deferred, and it results from fear. Maybe it's either a fear of being misunderstood or a fear of being alone. But in that case, my heart is believing a lie. God knows and understands me even better than I know or understand myself, and God is always there with me, besides me, in me, and for me.
What helps is when I don't hope that people will reply, but I have the hope that God will reply to me. That God is always there for me, that God always wants me. And this hope follows faith. God is the one that cares for me. And it's hardly possible to be accepted by everyone. We've all got issues.
Many Blessings,
~1Overcomer
