I (Taren) joined a run club this week.

That’s not the flex it sounds like, trust me.

I’d been thinking about it for months. Watching reels online, seeing people exercising in community and finding myself wanting that more and more.

But the thought of turning up alone to a group of people I didn’t know? Terrifying.

This was the week though. I checked the details, looked up the location and committed in my mind to showing up.

Then the day arrived and I immediately started negotiating with myself.

The kids probably need me home. I should cook dinner. The house is a mess. Maybe this just isn’t the best week after all.

But if I’m honest, none of those were the real reason.

The real reason was much deeper.

What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t fit in?

Yep. At 37 years old, I’ll admit it: I still hesitate to try new things because I’m afraid I won’t belong.

Rejection hurts. Putting yourself out there and not being accepted hurts. Even as an adult. Maybe especially as an adult.

As I sat in the discomfort of not knowing whether to go, I found myself thinking about a woman with a similar experience. Ok, she wasn't joining a run club but she was someone viscerally aware of not belonging;  the Samaritan woman Jesus meets in John 4.

I don’t even know her name, but damn I know her story.

She comes to the well expecting to draw water and be left alone. She’s carrying shame, the weight of her decisions and the opinions of everyone around her. She knows what it feels like to be an outsider.

She knows what it’s like not to belong.

Then Jesus meets her at the well, proves he knows her story… and stays.

He sees her fully and loves her completely. Before anyone else accepted her, she was already fully known and fully loved by Jesus.

I needed that reminder this week.

So, after a little push from Ben, I finally turned up to the run club. And somewhere between the nerves and those first few conversations, I realised something:

Whether every person there accepted me or not wasn’t actually the most important thing.

Because I was already accepted. Already known and already loved. 

That’s the security Jesus offers all of us. A belonging that isn’t earned and can’t be taken away by someone else’s opinion.

So do the hard thing and put yourself out there.

Join the group.
Start the conversation.
Apply for the job.
Or, just invite someone for coffee.

Not because you need their acceptance, but because in Jesus, you already have it.

(Also, for the record, run club people are super nice.)