To the one who feels disconnected,
Between applying for internships and taking a full load of classes, I find myself watching "One Tree Hill" for the third time.
It’s 2 a.m., and I’m sitting here watching the episode where Nathan is playing smash ball and Haley is freaking about her husband’s back. Quinten just died, and yes, it was just as sad as it was the first time I watched the series.
Only, this isn’t the episode that has me thinking. This isn’t the episode that hits so close to home, as so many of these episodes do.
Instead, I’m thinking about the episode about labels. The one where Shelly calls Mouth a geek. The one where Skills and Haley open his scholarship letter on the roof. It’s the episode where Haley tells Skills that sometimes she feels so disconnected.
In fact, these are her exact words: “Sometimes, I feel incredibly disconnected, really uncomfortable in my own skin, or kind of like I don’t fit into this world. Like I was born at the wrong time and I don’t belong.”
Haley James Scott, that is exactly how I feel. I feel disconnected.
I just feel really uncomfortable and like I just don’t fit in no matter how hard that I try.
Don’t get me wrong. I have friends. I have amazing friends. I have an amazing family. I have people who love me and support me always.
Despite all of this, I find myself feeling a little lost sometimes.
If that’s how you’re feeling, I have good news. No matter how disconnected or lost we feel, we won’t feel this way forever. I know that I’m never as alone as I feel, and I bet you aren’t either.
Luke 19:10 says, “For the Son of Man came to see and to save the lost.” (This comes from a book with more life changing quotes than "One Tree Hill" could ever imagine.)
How awesome is that, y’all?
Joshua 1:9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Sometimes, it is so easy for us to get caught up in everyday life and feel so disconnected that we feel like we’re drowning.
Only, we’re not. The Lord is always there to pull our heads back out of the water even when we feel like we’re swallowing sand.
I think that’s an amazing thing.
Psalm 28:7 says, “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song.”
Right now, I’m trusting The Lord with everything because I can’t do this whole life thing on my own.
So here’s your sign. If you feel disconnected, lost, overwhelmed, or dismayed; remember that things got better for Haley. Remember that the Lord’s got your back no matter what happens. No matter how you feel.
So cheers to hoping that we don’t feel disconnected for very long because we’re not disconnected. We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. We are all so very connected.
