Overlooked No More

A crowd stood about 30 feet away from an enormous heap of colorful shoes. Some folks were still finishing their hot dogs, others swatted at mosquitoes. Several parents had stirred the crazy mess of tennis shoes, sandals, and slip-ons so that every pair of shoes was separated. Then they shouted out directions for the Shoe-Pile game.

Barefoot kids and teens in stocking feet stood at the ready, waiting for the whistle to blow before tearing into the 3-foot high pile, locate both of their shoes, and make the dash to the judges at the finish line. One of the candy bar prizes was as good as mine, I figured. My friend's church picnic was turning out to be a lot of fun, even if no one else in my family had come with me.

When the whistle blew, dozens of kids raced across the field, fell onto their knees, and dove into the pile of shoes. Squeals and shoes flew through the air as everyone searched and shoved.

I immediately found my right shoe and only seconds later drew in a sharp breath. There it was! My blue shoe dotted with pink and white flowers--the left one--stuck out of the top of the pile. I pushed my way through the wall of frantic people and grabbed hold of the shoe lace, pulling it toward me. My heart raced as I looked around and realized no one else had found both of their shoes yet.

Flopping onto the soft grass, I used my index finger to wedge my sweaty feet back into their canvas homes. Standing up, I saw the four men serving as judges on the other side of the field, watching and waiting. I sprinted toward them, my heart soaring. I'm gonna win! I'm really gonna win!

Suddenly I heard feet racing behind me. Three other kids had found their shoes and were closing it, but it didn't matter, because we were all going to win the candy bars!

I approached the judge on the far left and reached out my hand to tag him, but he didn't see me. His eyes were focused on a kid behind me. Out of breath, I watched in slow motion as the judge bent down to congratulate the kid who arrived after I did. With a strange feeling in my stomach, I saw all the other judges greet the swarm of kids approaching them. But not one of them noticed me.

"Go to the prize table to claim your candy bar!" I heard the judge tell the kid who arrived after I did. Confused, I made my way to the table and attempted to explain to the nice woman that I really had had won one of the candy bars. She half-listened, but her eyes didn't believe me. "I'm so sorry," she said. "The prizes have already been given out."

At that moment I felt invisible, and utterly overlooked.

Perhaps if I'd had a good family environment, I could have shared the hurt and confusion with them later that day, received encouragement, and this little story would be long forgotten. After all, a picnic prize loss may not seem like much, but to a little girl who never was able to capture her parents' love or attention, the event widened the crevasse that already existed in my heart.

Maybe you can relate. Maybe you know what it's like to feel unnoticed, invisible, and overlooked. If you do, I'm so sorry. But the good news is, that's not how you have to remain.

Because that's not the end of my story. I grew up and gave my heart and life to Jesus, and He flooded my soul with the revelation that He always notices me. He began to pour truckloads of His love into the vast crevasse in my heart. I've since learned that one of the Lord's names is Jehovah El-Roi--the God who sees. He is the One who always notices us and recognizes our efforts and achievements. He's like the perfect Dad who always has time for us and is delighted to watch and enjoy us. He sees not only what we're doing, but He also sees deep into our hearts.

And though it's taken time for that crevasse in my heart to fill (how many truckloads would it take to fill the Grand Canyon?), He has steadily poured and poured. And what used to be a crevasse is now more like some cracks in a driveway. And even now, He is working on those.

I encourage you to spend some time this week with Jehovah El-Roi, the God who sees. He sees you, and He has truckloads of love to pour into the not-so-scenic overlooks in your heart. Allow Him to fill those places, look into your soul, and love and notice you like nobody else ever can or will.

Because the truth is, He is the God who always sees. And we never have to worry about feeling overlooked again.

She gave this name to the Lord who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she said, "I have now seen the One who sees me." (Genesis 16:13)

The WINNERS of Renee Swope's new book, "A Confident Heart", are Ginny at Faith Hope and Tea Therapy and Kelly at Believing in 1. Congratulations! Please email me your snail-mail addresses so I can send your books to you.