“If they don’t give you a seat at the table, bring a folding chair.” – Shirley Chisholm.

There have been times when I felt passed over, locked out, unwelcome and unwanted. I have felt stuck in places where I didn’t belong. Brian McKnight sings a song that perfectly sums up how I have felt during those times. He sings, “Oh Lord, am I destined to be what I’ve been. Never a thick and barely a thin? Where do I fit in?”

I have asked that question in many ways about about many things. In social situations, I have often wondered if there is a place for weirdos like me. In my career, I have often thought that there is nowhere for me to go. Even in church, I have thought that my particular brand of faith is an outlier amongst the flock,

And you know what. I was right. There wasn’t a place for me, but somehow I found my way into rooms with folks who were way out of my league. Favor put put me in places I never thought I’d be in, with people I’d never thought I’d meet. There were Rhodes Scholars and rappers, renowned theologians and reality TV stars. And there I sat with my anti-social self, trying my best not to look like the freeloading fraud I thought I was.

Then I heard it, that still small voice. “You belong here.”

I don’t believe it. “Here? In this place? With these people? How? Why?”

Then I remember, my Bible says my gift will make room for me and bring me before great men.

Making room sometimes means creating space where there was none before.  So I let my gift do its job, and then, I pull up a chair, and settle in.

Mama Radford