Will they like me this year?

I vividly remember the first day of junior high school. We all went to school k through 6 in one building and then moved across the street to the jr/sr high school for the next and final six years. So, starting junior high meant really being with the big kids, and all the hormones and attitudes that go with it. I knew it meant being in the same school as my older brother (which hadn't happened in three years), so it meant dealing with his friends too. Not just my classmates but a whole swirling writhing pool of possible friends, cruel bullies and everything in between. I wanted more than anything to be accepted. Not adored, just not destroyed on my first day. I wanted them to take me for who I was, and not ridicule me or compare me to my brother or give me a hard time since my dad was clergy in this small town.

I had a new outfit and a new haircut. But like almost every other first day of school, it was one of the warmest days of summer. The school wasn't air conditioned and I was damp, over dressed and petrified the whole day. Nothing tragic happened. There were so many more kids, and so many ways to get lost and distracted, that I didn't even know that my new skirt had torn a little. No one pointed it out to me, since they were probably too captivated by their own anxiety. No one teased me about it either, and I rushed home, put on shorts and stood under the hose. I think I wore summer clothes the rest of the next several weeks until it cooled down.

We all want to belong and be part of a crowd, community and group of colleagues. Many do that easily, others do not. And some are pointed out, fingered, rejected and teased for their difference. Some differences are awkwardness that we grow out of, others are bedrock, genetic and part of the reality of who we are. The first day of school always challenges us to accept ourselves and others. But some of us feel that stoning is right around the corner.

So today, I want to reach out to all those who feel like they have been put on the pyre, ready to be done in because their difference scares others. Their uniqueness is troubling to those who are in control. They need our prayers and our support more than ever this time of year. We are reigned in and in doing so, we can set on others because of their difference. May we be the kids today who see the beauty in the individual, the touch of God's creativity in their being. May we give thanks for them, hold them and nurture them, so that all of us might find safe rest. None of us is far from the pyre. Rejection comes swiftly and inclusion comes painfully slowly. May we remember all of those today who are just praying to survive the day without being scarred anymore. And may we be instruments of God's love for them and for all who just want to have a safe place to belong.