The Newbie and You

You remember being the “newbie,” don’t you? If you have grown up in one place, then you may not; but if you have ever been new to a church, school, team or city after the age of 9, then you probably remember that feeling all to well.Being new is hard. My daughter just started her freshman year at a new school. It has brought back all sorts of memories of my relocation to Memphis before my sophomore year of high school. Moves can often be good, but there are few feelings I remember more than starting over and longing for familiarity and acceptance. The bottom line… it takes time. It takes time to find people you enjoy. It takes time for people to get to know you. It takes time to break into established circles of relationships.This time of year, I encounter all sorts of people who are new. I met a woman at church on Sunday who was new to Memphis… sort of. She moved here a year ago and still feels new to the city. That feeling will not go away until it is replaced with a sense of belonging.As I prepare for the kickoff of another semester of Bible study, I anticipate the women who are joining us for the first time. They come for God’s Word, but they also come for connection. We are not designed to walk in isolation. Each semester, those first 20 minutes weigh on my heart. I think about every newbie as they climb the stairs and receive their group assignment. They grab their workbook and walk down the hall to find their room, food, and women… lots of chatty women. Everyone who is not a newbie joyfully finds a familiar face. For the extroverted newbie, she makes casual chit chat. For the introverted newbie, the time between arriving and when I bring order to the chatty chaos may seem more like eternity rather than 20 minutes.I encourage you to look around the next time you are in a place that is very familiar to you. Who do you see that does not have a friend running to greet her? What if you and the familiar faces you love were to welcome her with open arms? What if you moved beyond introductory pleasantries and decided that you would be used by the Lord to give this person a sense of belonging? Could you lend someone your friendship? I dare you to find two people this week who seem on the outside looking in. Give them a gift that will not cost you a penny… a sense of being wanted.Inside that newbie may be a friend you actually need. You never know. twitter | facebook