05/19/2025
If you've ever been alone in a strange place, you're bound to know how wonderful it is to have someone make you feel welcome. Many people have the knack for being at home in whatever place they find themselves. And in this gift they find no loneliness to tug at them, but more often than not most of us feel like strangers. And in doing so we set ourselves apart, or make it sometimes questionable as to the wisdom of asking us into a friendly circle. A friendly face and a friendly voice can make the most timid souls feel welcome. It can make them feel at home. For in the midst of many there is loneliness. Perhaps it is because our feigned look of self-sufficiency made someone question our need for help. Many a door has opened, and many a sound friendship won when someone said, "We're glad to have you...." The very atmosphere can be charged with concern when we see others who cannot find their way. The warmth of divine love is for daily use in making someone feel welcome. We should not forget nor fail to see the wisdom of Hebrews 13:2: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unaware." There must be no stronger feeling in the hearts of most people than the desire to belong. To belong to something, to someone, and in a place where the feeling is warm and friendly. The most blessed children in town are the ones born and raised in the same neighborhood, who have the tightly knit sense of belonging to everyone. Suddenly these children are not just the children of their parents, but the children of everyone in the church, in school, and anywhere where there is warmth and love and peace. War rages within so many, disallowing them any connection or any strand of love that would tie them to anything that gives them a sense of security. And when people become insecure they become demanding. And in demanding they lose the most essential part - the ability to attract love to themselves simply by loving first. In the words of William Blake, "Love seeketh not itself to please....Nor for itself hath any care......But for another gives its ease.....And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair." Some of my most productive moments are not when I consider how evil the world is, but how powerful is my God. Some of the best times are not all when I'm enjoying life, but when those I love are knowing happiness. The highest peak of wealth comes when the joy within surpasses anything I can create out here. The bloom of good health is felt more richly when I let it flow through me rather than dwelling on the possibility of sickness. Friendships are strongest and most true when I don't worry about giving more than I receive. In order that others forgive me, I must also learn to forgive. I must never forget that negative thoughts feed on fear and starve on faith. One of the greatest mistakes I can make is to believe myself to be without friend or faith or opportunity. These personal proverbs belong to all thinking persons who want their lives to have more meaning, know more happiness and feel more richly the love that is the medicine for the sickness of the world.
