Overlooked

Personal Photo: I love the crocus blooms kicking off spring, even when it is almost too chilly to be outside to take a photo of them. These flowers are small, so easily overlooked while we prep for spring. But they are so lovely, I am grateful that I did not miss their blooming. God never overlooks us, and cherishes the different parts of us that are beautiful in His eyes.

I checked my email again. Nothing. The habit of checking my email had become more and more frequent within the past couple weeks and I still found it incredibly frustrating. Since becoming a parent, I transitioned my corporate role to be part-time and remote, allowing me flexibility on hours and timing, while also allowing me to focus completely on Austin and being his mom. It was an opportunity my manager presented to me, and I would have been foolish to pass it up. However, as the months pass by and I work to maintain my hours and workload, while balancing it with my personal life, I have realized that my emails are often ignored, my check-ins with teammates are overlooked, and people fail to follow-up with my responses.

Usually this doesn't bother me, and I move along to the next thing on my list. However, this week it hit a tipping point for me. My job is supporting other people and their roles within the company. Even when someone is busy with a stacked schedule and several deadlines, I fail to see how that justifies blowing off a supporting teammate. I evaluated my work performance and I work to make sure I handle things in a timely manner, answer phone calls even when I am holding a sleeping baby, and make sure to follow-up with my manager and teammates with emails, reminders, and offerings of assistance with workload. And yet I still find the list of those who fail to even respond to me growing.

This happens a lot, right? We do things that people easily overlook. Sometimes it comes in parenting, when we do the same things day in and day out. Sometimes it comes in work when we get up every day and go to make money just to find it gone again. Sometimes we feel this way as students, or athletes, friends or family members. At some point or another, we have all felt like what we do, or who we are, has been overlooked. And sometimes it hits us harder than other times, and we get frustrated at our circumstances, or lonely without a friend, or hopeless with no chance of change. It got me thinking about how God never overlooks us. He is the God of the universe, and has enough time to hear our prayers, sit with us at the dinner table, and hold our hand when we feel afraid.

The Bible reminds us time and time again that even though we might feel overlooked by others, God always sees us and what we do. Even when it is as miniscule as the laundry, dishes, or answering someone's email. He notices when we reach out to someone else, when we take care of the finances, when we lend a helping hand to another. Even the things that seem of very little value, or when we feel of little value, are considered precious to the Lord. We can reference Luke 12:6-7 "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, every hair of your head is numbered. Do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Here we are reassured that even little things are important. Even things that we overlook, like the hairs on our head, are valuable to God. In this way, we can remember that what we do, even when it is not valued by our peers, is important to the Lord and we can continue to do them for Him.

Truly, when we feel overlooked or underappreciated, it is important for us to realize why we continue to do things even when we find ourselves feeling this way. Taking a step back in order to evaluate that we continue to give our best effort, dedicate our time, presence, and kindness, in order to please the Lord, helps us refocus and remember that the only approval we need is that of the Lord's. And He doesn't miss a thing. Hebrews 6:10 explains that "For God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have ministered to His people, nor will He forget your service to Him." Here we are reminded that even when no one else notices how hard we work, how intentional we are with our time, how difficult it can be to show kindness and forgiveness, God not only recognizes us for it, but appreciates and rewards us for these things.

In fact, the things that people often overlook are usually much more valuable than what we could receive praise for. Our world cherishes things such as power, status, and wealth, but God cares much more for the invisible parts of our hearts that urge us to do good for Him. 1 Samuel 16:7 tells us how "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." In this way, we can see how recognition from others might be what we think we need, but really we just need to be recognized by the Lord, for our hearts to be appreciated much more than our actions. Our character, our hearts, and our intentions are all things God sees and loves, but the world usually takes little notice of. The reality that we will often not be seen for who we really are might sound discouraging, but it actually encourages an intimacy with the Lord so that we can live for His approval and His recognition alone, rather than trying to please others all the time.

Aaron Tippin sings "If you trim yourself to fit the world, you'll whittle yourself away," and reminds us that we will never do enough to be in favor and recognized for our hearts in this world. If we continue to live for the world, we will have nothing of us left to give by the time it is done taking. This does not mean we abandon doing good, practicing kindness, and spreading joy. Rather we do it for the recognition and praise of the Lord, who remembers and sees all of what we do and why we do it. Psalm 139:1-3 reads "O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thoughts afar off. You are acquainted with all my ways." God knows us better than anyone else. He can see our hearts, hear our minds, and can appreciate all the things no one else sees or responds to.

We might feel overlooked sometimes, and it might cause us frustration, loneliness, or sadness, but when we remember that God never overlooks us, it puts a balm on the emotions we feel. He will not forget our hard work, our seemingly mundane chores of everyday, our intentional kindness and patience. God sees us. He appreciates us. And He will continue to reward us with His peace, love, and happiness when all we do, no matter how many people overlook our actions, is for Him!