I am not ordinary because I am a child of God. King Charles is not an ordinary man because his mother happened to be the Queen of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Well my heavenly Father is way more important than the King or the Queen. Other people will not recognize my royalty but that does not make it any the less true. My value to the Father is so high that he sent his son to die a horrific death on a cross in order that I might enter into relationship with the Father. It was not just for me though; many many others were redeemed from their ordinariness when Jesus died on that cross and then later rose again.

Using the term average person doesn’t work too well either. Who is an average person? Is it a he, or a she? How old is she? How tall is she, how educated, how strong, how friendly? Is she married or single? Can she sing? Is he good at video games? Does he drink? Is he good at sports? So many questions that cannot be satisfactorily answered.

We will not give up. The person we are looking for is ordinary in the sense that she was born into a family with two parents, went to school, left school several years later, and eventually got a job. She worked for several years, then perhaps got married and had a family. When the children were old enough, she went back to work, until it came time to retire. This person is not super rich, so she needed to find work to help pay the bills. Neither is this person famous in any sense of the word. That is, she is not a singer who became loved by thousands, or an actress who is easily recognized. Neither is she famous in Christian circles, not as an entertainer or as a speaker. This is you, and this is me. And we are not insignificant.

We have struggled though, you and I, to feel significant sometimes. I recall as a young mother, hanging out with some other women in our church. I have no recollection about what we were actually talking about, I just remember that suddenly I blurted out

“I want to be somebody.”

Everyone momentarily stood still in stunned silence. The pastor’s wife was there, and I am pretty sure she struggled with a bit of an inferiority complex. Her husband had all the theological training, and she had none. Her husband was a wonderful man, and everybody loved him. She was not so popular. She had spoken a little harshly to me more than once, but I always excused her in my mind because her husband was a hard person to have to stand beside so often. On this occasion, however, she spoken kindly to me.

“Mary, you are somebody. You are a child of God.”

That was a good answer, although a little more would have been helpful.

Tennis is one of my favourite sports to participate in, and every summer you will find me at our local club playing several times a week. A couple of years ago I was playing a game of doubles. My partner seemed to be annoyed with me, for a reason that I was unaware of at the time. I was behind the back line when our opponents hit a ball that landed right at my feet, and I could see clearly that it was out. I made the call, but then was shocked to hear that my partner disagreed. He didn’t say anything to me, he just looked at our opponents and informed them that really it was in, and therefore the point was theirs. I believe that if he had looked at me and shared what he thought had happened, I could have responded better. I would probably have explained that I had a much closer view than he did, but if he wanted to give the point to the other side that was fine. He didn’t do that, however, and I was embarrassed. I felt like he had totally discounted me. I yelled

“I am not a non-person!”

 I was extremely upset that he had chosen to simply ignore me and what I thought. After my short outburst I quickly explained that I had clear sight of where the ball landed, and he had no right to overrule what I said without any discussion. Then I walked off the court and went home.

Later that evening I returned and apologized to my partner for my loud outburst. My response was more than just about what happened at the tennis courts. I was struggling to feel valued in other areas of my life, although I didn’t explain this to my tennis partner. What took place on the courts brought up some buried pain. Feeling insignificant was something that I had experienced too many times before, and I hated it.

Sometimes incidents like the two I have just mentioned are helpful to recognize that there is a problem. This is such an important step. Until I acknowledge that there is something not quite right, the Lord is not able to step in and help me.

This is from the beginning of my latest book, Not Insignificant. If you would like to read more you can purchase it on Amazon.