By name

Personal Photo: I loved running, and it brought me closer to God. The things I have learned, the prayers I have prayed, and the freedom I have felt are so much more important than any award. In the same way, when we feel God's smile on our lives, and choose Him back in everything we do, we find that no amount of recognition from others could measure up. It creates in us a peace and a desire to love like Jesus, to give like God, and to help like the Holy Spirit.

I sat in the cold chair, leaning my arms against the stale desktop of my high school classroom. The darkness outside the windows felt at odds with the way we were all in the building, dressed up so much more formally than our surroundings. I looked around the room, taking in my classmates and teammates as we all settled in with our families. It was awards night for cross country, and I was eager to hear the names called. I had worked so hard this year, improved so much from the races I ran as a freshman the year before. In fact, I had run almost four hundred miles worth of training over the summer in preparation for this season, I jumped up to second place runner on our team, and I was hopeful that I would get the award to reflect my hard work.

The room settled down and my coach began his speeches for each of the awards. When he got to "Outstanding Runner," which was typically reserved for the second-place spot, he mumbled a little bit and then said they would not be handing out that award that year, because it was going to be combined with the "Coaches Award, " which had already been handed out to the team's injured senior varsity runner. He picked up the next plaque and shared a brief note about my consistency as a runner and called my name. I got the award that was typically dedicated to third place, "Key Runner." I walked up to the coach, shook his hand, and took the plaque back to my seat. My first award. While I was thankful to have my efforts recognized in any capacity, I could not help struggling with their actions telling me I was not their choice for the award I had worked to earn. They had always handed out the "Outstanding Runner" award. They handed it out every single year. Every year but the year I should have won it.

Choices. We all make choices, every single day. We choose when we wake up and go to sleep, who we talk to, eat lunch with, and text throughout the day. We choose who to spend our free time with, who we pay special attention to, and what we spend our time on. Choices are a part of life; they shape the relationships we work to form with ourselves and with others. I share the story of my high school awards ceremony because I was not the choice that night. I was not the choice even though I did everything I could have done. I was not the choice even though I worked hard to get to the spot I was in. I was not the choice, and there was nothing I could do about it. I had done my best and it just wasn't meant to be. This is just one instance that I could pick that demonstrates how sometimes we can do everything right and still not be chosen. It applies to every aspect of life. Ever gone through a breakup? Or been left out by someone you cared about? Or maybe you were the last person to get picked for a team. Regardless, we know what it feels like when we aren't the ones being picked. Our walks of faith are no different.

By choosing to walk in our faith, I can guarantee that we have all felt this way, all felt as though we did everything in our power to do the right thing, to live by God's standards, to keep the peace, to love others, etc. and we still end up drawing the short stick. It's frustrating when you give that much of yourself, and you still feel as though you are blending in with the wallpaper, that you talk and no one listens, that you work hard for no one to recognize it. One of the most powerful things about choosing God is that He always chooses us. Our lives are full of choices and when we use our freedom of choice to pick God amongst the temptations, distractions, and failures that litter our day-to-day, we find ourselves investing in a friendship that pays us back tenfold. Isaiah 43:1-2 reads "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you." By name, my friends. He calls us by our names and claims us to be His. God squelches any doubt for His love for us in these verses, sharing that He will be with us, protect us, and pay special attention to us. He will never overlook one of His beloved children.

God does not choose us because we are the last ones chosen here. He does not choose us as a backup to the people we want to choose us each day. No, God picks us out of the crowd, and He always has. In fact, He chose us long before we were even born. The Lord sees every struggle we go through, every ounce of ourselves we give to Him and to walking with Him. There is not a moment that goes by that God does not appreciate and love us. This is so incredibly important to remember when we feel insignificant, or like we cannot contribute to His greater plan. The truth is just the opposite. In fact, God chooses us every single moment of every single day in order to grow us in our faith, to become successful in our walk with Him, and to bring Him glory. Ephesians 1:4-5 tells us "Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will." Here we can see how special it is that He has selected us, and how it can create a sense to live for the Lord rather than for others around us. We are an integral part of God's Almighty plan, and when others fail to recognize our hard work, our dedication, our faith, we can be at peace knowing that the Lord appreciates every time we choose Him back.

When we struggle with others getting chosen over us, feeling as though our efforts are for naught, or the loneliness in remaining positive amidst the turbulence of life, we can take a step back and remember that even when we are not chosen by anyone else, God still does. Our own insecurities, the devil's attempts at making us feel isolated, and the disappointment we feel when our peers let us down can all create the feeling that our efforts are not worth it. Ephesians 2:10 reminds us that "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." God promises that we are destined for great things, chosen out of the crowd, and He calls us by name!