Don’t Forget What it Feels Like to Be a Stranger

“Small shifts in how you think make a tremendous difference in how you feel.”

Erica Layne

In my journal of what NOT to do when I got old, I had this little gem in there: Do NOT forget what it is like to not be the cool kid. We moved a lot when I was growing up. Sometimes I’d just be getting my sea legs in one town and we’d be off to the next. I know what it feels like to not be the cool kid. I understand what it feels like to be invisible.

This “knowing” is one of the reasons Pete and I chose to stay in Richmond and raise our kids in the same house. There were options over the years to move but we found a way to maintain this home base. Consequently, I did not get any cooler, but I was able to find my way to the grocery store. I learned to have preferences for which checkout line to slide into. When I walk in my neighborhood I may not know all the names of the people but I recognize most of the faces. It would be easy for me to forget what it feels like to be a stranger, even if I never will know what it means to be cool.

In Mark 10, people were bringing their kids to Jesus for his blessing and the disciples did not like it. They shushed and prodded the parents to take those kids away. Jesus rebuked them. He told them that no one was getting into the kingdom of God UNLESS they were willing to receive the kingdom of God like a little child. And then because he was not the kind of son of God who talked a big game without actually entering into the contest, he blessed those kids.

Kids were not cool in Jesus’ time; they were invisible. Jesus valued them anyway.

So take heart! If you have ever felt like a stranger, uncool kid, or beggar asking for Jesus to bless you - it is clear that Jesus hears you, sees you, reaches out and grabs you in for a big old pre-covid hug.

But also - beware! Beware that in our shift from an invisible person to a loved-by-God human we do not forget what it was like to be on the other side of that invisible barrier.

And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.

Mark 10:16 NIV