Not Forgotten
I was hanging out with several friends when they began to chatter away about a party everyone had gone to. Everyone except me.
The conversation turned awkward when they realized I hadn’t been asked to the festivities my friends were reminiscing about.
A few days later, I found myself in a similar situation when I was scanning through my Facebook newsfeed. My smile faded when I saw the beaming faces of friends at another friend’s wedding I wasn’t invited to attend.
After that, I dealt with another hurtful experience when a relative died but no one thought to notify me. Tears fell hot as I read the note with the outdated news.
- Not included.
- Not invited.
- Not remembered.
Have you ever been in that situation? It’s hurts, doesn’t it? How do you handle it?
Not Forsaken
For me, I’m tempted to curl up in a fetal position and suck my proverbial thumb till the hurt goes away.
…Or I think about ways to get back at them.
Maybe I could pretend it doesn’t bother me and post my own fun pictures of a recent exploit?
…Or I could retaliate and blast off a nasty text or a blistering email.
…Or I could run– but where would I go to outrun the hurt, really?
To sum it up, it’s inevitable that at some point in our lives, we will get hurt, overlooked, forgotten, not invited.
Yet those are especially the times when God opens his arms to us and invites us to run to him. As the psalmist reminds us: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
What do I do?
When we are feeling left out, overlooked, forgotten, we can know that, in fact, we aren’t.
We belong to the One who will never leave or forsake us.
That One has our names on HIS heart. And we are always invited into HIS presence.
It’s in the presence of God that we can find the grace, humility, and courage to forgive and extend our heart to those who didn’t invite, include, or remember us.
Never Alone
So the next time hurt happens…
- Run to God.
- Cry out to him and wait for his peace to fall.
- Let the Holy Spirit whisper to you that you are loved and accepted by the One who made you, that you are always included, never alone, and certainly never forgotten.
Verse:
“Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me— everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.” —Philippians 4:8–9 NLT
Prayer
God, it hurts to be left out, overlooked, not included. Be the caulk that fills in the cracks of my broken heart. Remind me that I can trust you to always love me, celebrate me, invite me. Amen.
Invited to a family thing with hubby. We had fun. Two days later, the drama queen said we did this and that from someone else’s messenger. Good grief. It wasn’t pretty. I knew where it came from. Ignore and lots of prayer. Anyone who knows me knows I’m not drama or disrespectful. Prayers
Thank you Robyn, lately it’s been feelings of judgement from my daughter we live with. It feels like she judges me because she’s upset with her father. She has decided to sell her home. She has a lot to do to get ready to sell it but has let us know she would like to put it on the market in September and we need to be in our own place. She invited her youngest sibling who is transgender to move in the end of June. She has changed her mind at least 3 times about what she is doing. She is even willing to give us money if we need it to buy a condo. I have felt very hurt because she is the one who wanted us to move in in 2018. We are looking forward to a place of our own again but she’s been trying to get us to get places that are not good for us. She is not trusting God and I pray she will find peace with Him. Your encouragement was perfect timing for me. I am excited for what God will show us about where to live. I had the privilege to me you two times at Miracle Camp in Michigan. Thank you again.
Thank you. I will cling to this message
I’m thankful I can’t think of a particular incident. Also thankful years ago God taught me slowly to rely on him when it feels like I have no friends. Life is a long slow journey but with God it is possible. Thanks so much for your words and your raw expressions of reality
I had foot surgery and no one from church has called me. It was difficult to get around and nobody to help me.
So sorry. That stinks.
Praying that someone from your church or circle of friends will find out about your situation and be God’s Hands and Feet for you!
Hi Robyn,
What works for me is to say.
Thank you God for the pain. It will make my soul stronger and give me emotional fiber to keep climbing the ladders of life. Strife makes us strong…know we belong to the club…you can’t go wrong…let bygones be bygones! Disappoint is a close relative to rejection. Life is a numbers game. You have to play to win. Bumps and bruises are inevitable.
Keep givin’ and livin’ and God will water the choice seeds. Besides…I heard the food at those parties was tainted and everyone got sick…lol!
God shower blessings on you dear,
Lynn West
PS. The website is my son’s not for profit. I am on the board. He is going to California to film a Ted Talk next week. Pray for him please.