Feeling Left Out? This Is for You . . .
I open the refrigerator in search of milk, but the sticker on the door catches my eye. It reads, “Star Student Award.” The white paper is creased and is very well-loved. The little girl who earned this sticker was feeling left out until the day the teacher handed her the sticker.
She wore it for two days.
The day she earned the sticker, she bounced off the school bus in the blazing heat with a fleece jacket over her shirt.
She said she wanted to surprise me.
She ripped the coat wide open to unveil the prize she’d been longing for all year: the principal’s star student award. My sweet girl was spotted helping a friend, and someone noticed.
I convinced her not to slap it onto her pajamas that night, but she wore it to school the next day, gently pulling it from her turquoise T-shirt and placing it on her purple dress. She was chosen, and she just couldn’t wait to show the world.
After the second day on display, the sticker found its final resting place on an index card. We taped it to the fridge for good measure.
A treasure.
A reminder to be kind.
Feeling Left Out in Places That Matter
Staring at it in the early glow of morning’s rising light, I think of what it means to be chosen. I think of a dozen times when I so desperately longed to be chosen . . . but wasn’t.
The Truth You Need When You Feel Left Out
I turn away from the sticker on the fridge and make my way to the couch.
Opening the Bible, I read, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Ephesians 1:3-4).
Chosen.
I chew on the words.
The God who created the stars and the clouds and the mountains chose me.
He chose me before the foundation of all these things.
I wasn’t always chosen for the team, chosen for the dance, or chosen for the promotion, but God chose me to be his.
I wasn’t always chosen for the team, chosen for the dance, or chosen for the promotion, but God chose me to be his. #identityinChrist #encounteringGod Share on XGod chose me, with all my failures, all my besetting sins. He chose me with my quick temper, my stained past, and my addictive personality. Only the cross could have accomplished this. The cross makes me blameless.
For the Woman Who Needs to Know She Is Chosen
Sweet friend, you are not reading these words by accident.
God is pursuing you. He is inviting you to draw close to him. He chooses you.
You might be feeling left out in some area of your life, but your Maker is not overlooking you.
He is calling you to a life of love. And you know what? When you know you are chosen by God, it won’t matter so much when the world rejects you.
You are not called to fit in; you are called to love others.
Embrace your identity as a chosen child of God. Receive Jesus’ love and forgiveness. Ask him to be the Lord and Savior of your life. Humble yourself and tell him you need him.
And then go.
Go and look for someone who is feeling left out. Look for someone who needs your love.
This is how you overcome the less-than feelings that come when you feel overlooked. Give the affirmation you so desperately seek.
~~~
I swallow down the truth, and Bekah comes down the stairs with her hair matted from the pillow.
She walks to the fridge. She runs her little fingers across the sticker. I run my fingers across the pages that remind me of the same thing.
When she folds onto my lap, we talk about the sticker on the fridge, and I read words of life to her, praying they’ll sink straight into her thrumming heart. She smiles wide, the truth sinking deeper.
Calling All Parents and Grandparents!
As the parent of two sons and a daughter, I have a heart for helping parents develop deeper relationships with their children and with God. Our kids, ages 7, 12, and 16, share this vision. They have helped me write three family devotionals for parents or older relatives to read with the children and teens they love. I also recently released a teen devotional called Anchored, designed to help teens learn key biblical narratives and apply them to their lives. You can find these books here or read more below. 
Mother-Daughter Devotionals by a Mom and Daughter
Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section for moms and daughters after each devotion. I wrote this book with the help of our daughter, Bekah, when she was eleven. Find this one-of-a-kind shared devotional here.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, sexuality, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. Bekah and I will help you right here.
Devotions for Boys by Boys
God’s Warrior: Devotions for Boys Who Want to Grow in Courage and Strength helps young boys, ages 5-13, learn what it means to trust God and become strong warriors for his kingdom. Now, more than ever, our world needs men who are willing to boldly carry God’s love into the world. I wrote this boys’ devotional book with our two young sons, Aiden and Caleb, ages six and eleven! You’ll enjoy their honesty as we teach boys how to be strong warriors for the Lord. Find this life-changing devotional book here.
These Books Are Free on Kindle Unlimited: God Wants to Heal, Restore, and Refresh You
God wants to work in your life to accomplish what you’ve been unable to do through willpower alone. He also wants to help you establish a rhythm of meeting with him daily as you trust him with the hard parts of your life. Click here to explore two books that will guide you: Be Still and Trust and Lean Into Grace. They are free on the Kindle Unlimited program and for sale in print.
Download Your Free Devotional Here
Set Free: Let God Do What You Cannot explores ten realms in which most of us need God to work in our lives and bring deliverance. We’ll talk about finding freedom from fear, worry, insecurity, bad habits, emotional pain, and more. This short online devotional will bless you as you let God accomplish what you’ve been unable to achieve through willpower. Get your download for free with promo code GRACE or for a donation of 3.99 here. Thank you. This small gift helps keep this ministry running.
I also offer a library of free online devotional eBooks for free. I invite you to explore the collection right here!
