"But . . ."

"Being on the Outside"

     One of the times I dreaded the most in elementary school was physical education or recess. (I'm sure many of you are nodding as if to say, "we can tell!")  It was not that I didn't enjoy exercising or running and playing.  It was because of the dreaded choosing of the teams.  Usually the strongest, most popular kids were chosen as team captains and asked to chose their team members from the rest of us.  The trend was to choose your friends first, the strongest and fastest next, and last, the few who no one really wanted on their teams but were obligated to take.  I'm sure you're thinking that Beth was in the second group.  You are wrong!  I was usually in the last group.

     This trend of selective choosing didn't seem to stop as I got older.  When I was in the 6th grade, I remember a student who I will call "Alice".  She didn't fit into any of the school "clicks" but really wanted to.  Her mother ran a little grocery store, and one day, Alice brought a box of Blow Pop Suckers to school.  She was very popular while there were suckers, but as soon as the last sucker was handed out, she was back to her former status.  That incident made a huge impact on me, and I've never forgotten Alice or her attempt to win friends and to feel a "part" of the popular group.

     As I've aged, I've always thought that this behavior of picking and choosing friends based on looks, popularity, size, color, money, and the list goes on . . . would stop.  I thought that as adults, we would see the importance in each person and how they bring value to this world and our lives.  Boy was I wrong.

     Teams are still being picked, and unfortunately picked the same way they were when I was on the playground.  There are still those who are last to be picked or not picked at all, and they do their best to be noticed by the "popular" ones so they too feel part of the team.  They work hard and volunteer whenever there is a job to be done.  They are givers, maybe not of "Blow Pops", but they are constantly giving to others trying to feel, if only for a few minutes, accepted.

     The good news is that God has one team, and He's choosing everyone to be a part of it.  It's our decision to join, though.  He does not force or beg us.  He gives the invitation, and the rest is up to us.  He shows no favoritism or partiality.  It doesn't matter who you are, where you've come from, what you look like, how much money you have, or what you've done.  He created you and loves you. 

     I wonder where "Alice" is today and if she's still handing out Blow Pops?!?!