You Do Fit In

Suppose you were a piece of a jigsaw puzzle. Could you have any doubt there was a unique place for you in the whole picture being assembled - a space that could be taken by no other piece? You would know that without your contribution the puzzle couldn't be completed.

Well, you are much more important than a piece in a jigsaw puzzle. God has designed you as absolutely needed for His complete expression, which is infinite. You have a distinct place in creation, as God's very "image" and "likeness" (as the Bible says in Genesis). And it isn't an empty space cut to your size, waiting for you to fill sometime, somehow. No, God's creation is always complete, and you are you, always having your perfect place in it. As a matchless individual - actually an idea that God, the infinite Mind, has specifically chosen to create - you have a place that belongs solely to you. You do fit into the glorious whole of God's perfect spiritual creation. And that's the most important way to ever fit in.

These are actual facts. And what's true spiritually is also provably true in your life. Mary Baker Eddy, who founded this newspaper, wrote, "Each individual must fill his own niche in time and eternity" ("Retrospection and Introspection," Pg. 70). I read that word must as a promise. Because Mind is all-power, it will guide us to see our place in time, as well as in eternity.

Does it look otherwise to you? Do you sometimes feel like an outcast? I knew those feelings as a teenager. But I've since found that there is something anyone who has such feelings can do about them. Something that makes a difference. We can pray and as a result find out more about the perfect place we already occupy in God's universe of good. Admittedly this is not a physical place; but it is a place in which to "hang out," mentally and spiritually - in the company of good, true thoughts from God (or angels, as they're sometimes called). This is the best company of all.

Although the understanding of God that makes this possible can't always guarantee you a place in an "in crowd" of your peers, I have found that by praying I am inspired. I get ideas that do lead me to happy friendship.

Even then, companionship is an expression of, and not a replacement for, the joyous company of knowing God. The Scriptures say, "Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Ps. 16:11). Here the "Thou" and "thy" refer to divine Spirit. Regardless of the friends we do or don't have, it is becoming more spiritually-minded that brings the happiness of knowing that God is with us.

The more we understand that the good we have rests on a purely spiritual basis, the more we see that our good can't be taken away. Not by the actions of anyone who is unkind or rejects us, not by the absence of people we like or love. By loving infinite good with all your being, and by loving your neighbor as yourself (as Christ Jesus said to do), you'll find out just how you fit into God's good plan.

You can do this! It's an enjoyable thing to do. That doesn't mean it's always easy. But it is really satisfying. And for someone looking to find his or her place in life, this is the best way to begin - by settling into a habit of consistently identifying good thoughts, and acting on them. It's the best way I know to feel good about yourself and to be attractive to other people.

While having popularity, skills that people admire, a well-paying job, a date (or many dates), may all seem on the surface to define whether we have found our place in life, not one of these can truly bring happiness in and of itself. What is required is to cultivate the spiritual outlook that enables us to feel joy in every situation, joy that is honest and unconditional. It comes from learning that we always fit into God's purpose. And we can compound this happiness by helping other people learn how to find it for themselves.

Since thou wast

precious in my sight,

thou hast been honourable,

and I have loved thee.

Isaiah 43:4