Dear Lord, help me erase the negative thoughts that run through my mind at times, making me feel unloved and rejected. Remind me that I am chosen and dearly loved both now and forever. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Pick Me! Pick Me! Karen Ehman "For we know, brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you ..." 1 Thessalonians 1:4 (NIV) I stand with my back against the school's red brick wall, my woolen plaid skirt scratching my legs even though I have on my best cable-knit tights. Trying not to look desperate, I secretly pray I won't be the last one chosen for the team that morning. It is recess time and kickball is my classmates' game of choice. Names are called. As I look to the captain pointing and choosing kids, my heart's cry is simple, "Pick me! Pick me!" I sit in sixth hour a few years later awaiting the end-of-day announcement of the homecoming court nominees. Earlier that crisp autumn day, the lunchroom had been all abuzz, a whirlwind of activity: scribbled ballots and scrambling beauties seeking votes. Now that the folded papers are tallied and the results are being read, my heart's cry remains the same, "Pick me! Pick me!" College girls gather around the stately cement fountain in the middle of campus. It is the place where many women give others a glimpse of "the ring." The ring that means they are chosen and loved, soon to be some dashing coed's wife. While the third finger on my left hand remains painfully naked, my heart's cry is still so very, very simple. "Will some manplease pick me?" Throughout much of my early life I desired nothing more than to be wanted. Yet, at many junctures my heart repeatedly felt rejection as someone else was chosen instead of me. It wasn't until late in college that a wonderful truth was shared with me. I am already chosen. Already loved. 1 Thessalonians 1:4 nails it. "For we know, brothers and sisters, loved by God, that he has chosen you." (NIV) We are loved by God. He's already picked us. So there is no need to hope and wish and cross our fingers for good luck. We won't be left standing against a wall, unloved and passed over for someone with more skill, better looks or more brains. We are the objects of our Savior's love and nothing we do will change His feelings for us. Will you cling with me to the very words of God? Let them be louder than the voices from your past or the jeers of the present or even your own negative self-talk that tells you that you're not worthy, not loved, not _________ enough. You are the one He is pointing at, in front of the whole wide world's schoolyard, boldly declaring both now and forever, "This is My heart's cry: I choose you!"