I Pick You

I remember starting first grade (yes, I remember back that far), and white, patent leather go-go boots were all the rage. All my friends had them, and I wanted to slide my feet into a pair as well. So my mom took me shopping. But excitement turned to dismay when I learned that the cute little girl boots didn’t come in my size. Why… my size you might ask. Well, it was an adult size 7. A little large for a six year old, I know. All of me was a little large for a six year old. My mom let me try on the adult go-go boots, but they looked “a little more go-go,” and I looked like I belonged more on a street corner than on a playground. I didn’t get to have go-go boots. I didn’t get to look like the cute little girls in my grade.

I didn’t just look like the other girls because I didn’t have go-go boots. I just didn’t look like them. My feet were big. I was two feet taller than most of them. I felt like a big, awkward klutz.

How I longed to be one of those petite little girls with the long curly blonde hair. Everyone always commented on how beautiful and cute they were. I would get, “My, what a big girl you are.” (Just what I wanted to hear.)

I especially noticed the difference when I was in a crowd of “the cute little girls.” How I longed to be the girl that got picked for whatever it was. Sometimes it was at a school assembly, and the performer was needing an assistant. He would glance through the crowd looking for someone to choose. Sometimes it was a teacher looking for just the right person to play the part in the Christmas play. In my heart I was hoping, “Pick me. Pick me.” They would give me a glance, but then point right at the pretty little girl with the perfectly curly hair. I felt like a female Charlie Brown.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that has felt that way. A lot of us don't get picked out of the crowd.

The good news is someone does pick us. God says, “I pick you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. I created you just the way you are and I love you.” God picks ME. All 5’9”, size 11 shoes. He sees me in a crowd and He says, “I pick you.” It just took me a few years to realize that.

The next time you feel insignificant, unnoticed, invisible, looked over, lost, unspecial (not a real word, but I have felt it) or …you're just wanting to be picked for a change. Go out side and look around. God’s fingerprint is on everything: the stars He placed in the heavens and knows by name, the magnificent ocean that rolls upon the shore, the mountain peaks that touch the sky, and the birds that sing a song of praise. Amongst all God’s mighty creation, He tells us in Psalms 139 that He created our inmost being. He knit us together in our mother’s womb. He made each one of us special and with a purpose in mind.

And I am reminded…that no matter where I am or who I am around, He looks straight at me with His eyes of grace and He says, “Dear one, I pick you.”