I played six-on-six girls’ basketball when I was a kid. It meant that you could only dribble twice before you had to pass the ball to one of the three teammates on your half of the court.
I usually played forward, so my job was scoring–or more accurately in my case, to pass the ball to someone more likely to put the ball through the net.
I was a full head shorter than most kids my age, and was more likely to trip over my own shoelaces than to score a basket.
But if I was bad as a forward, you should have seen me as a guard.
Yet, for some reason, the coach put me one day as a guard. Maybe she thought I’d be less dangerous there, seeing how my only job was to prevent the forwards on my side of the half-court line from scoring.
That afternoon, with shoes squeaking against the junior-high gymnasium floor in a room smelling like sweat and popcorn, I got hold of the ball. Behold: I stole it! That was a modern-day miracle, I tell you.
But that’s where the miracle unravels.
After my steal, I turned straight around and shot a basket.
It sailed through the net. A clean shot.
Trouble was, I had just scored for the wrong team.
I was mortified. My coach laughed. My teammates laughed. The boys laughed … for weeks afterward. And worse? I could even see the referee stifling laughter behind his whistle.
If you were a kid like that, you might still be standing wherever you are — right now — saying, “I’ll mess this one up today.” You might just figure you don’t belong wherever you are. Like you’re a complete disaster on the wrong side of whatever court you’re standing in.
You might just want to run for the hills … or at least the bathroom stall in the locker room.
For you? It could be worse than some silly basketball game.
Maybe you grew up hearing words from a parent like, “You’ll never amount to much.” Or … “You always mess it up.” And all these years later, you’ve got the rejection letters and the finger-pointers to prove it.
But friend? These are the make-or-break moments for me … and for you. These are the moments you might need to evangelize your own self for the sake of your one precious life, and for your kingdom call.
You belong. Not because of the scoreboard, or the whistle-blower, or the guys in the bleachers.
You belong because you have God Capital. Value in Christ. He says you matter — not because of your performance, but because of His Son’s performance.
That’s the score that matters most.
Discover more of Jennifer Dukes Lee’s wisdom in When Storms Rage On
Jennifer Dukes Lee used to cover crime, politics, and natural disasters as an award-winning news journalist in the Midwest. Now, Jennifer uses her reporting skills to chase after the biggest story in history: the redemptive story of Christ. She blogs here. Soon, her words will make their way into her debut nonfiction Christian book, Love Idol: Letting Go of Your Need for Approval – and Seeing Yourself through God’s Eyes.She and her husband live on the Lee family farm in Iowa with their two daughters.
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