A Stranger

One of the best gifts God can give someone who walks in a gathering of people, is that feeling of being a stranger, an outsider, different.  Why?  Well, if the group is on some spiritual path, some loving way, someone from the "insiders" will greet you, welcome you, invite you to join in, no questions asked, no forms to fill out, or tasks to perform for acceptance.  I have seen it in the basement of churches and in their upstairs cathedral settings.  The gift of being welcomed without judgment will remind you someday, when you are an insider, a member, to welcome the newcomer who has that same look you had when you first walked through that door.  Just a sobering thought.