When We Feel Overlooked

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I almost missed it.

It was early in the morning, and the only light was a dimly lit lamppost stationed on the opposite corner of the parking lot.  I gripped the steering wheel in determination to fight through the heavy fog that seemed to hover over my car on the drive over.  The fog almost distracted me from the frustration I had felt since the day before.  I climbed out of my car, struggling with the mood I was in.

As I turned to shut the door, I glanced down for a fraction of a second, and there it was:  a piece of shining silver poking through the otherwise dull asphalt.  Bending down, I picked it up, pressing the quarter into my palms.  I could still feel the warmth of the sun from the day before- all held in this little piece of spare change.

Typically, I wouldn’t have stopped to pick it up.  Really, who wants to stop walking long enough to find what everyone else overlooks?  It was that particular morning, though, that this quarter was exactly what I prayed for.

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Exhaustion and frustration played the starring roles in my week.  Nothing was going the way I wanted, and I’m not a big fan of that.  The confusion of projects.  The miscommunication from a multitude of online classes.  The relying on people I barely knew to complete their part in group assignments.  It all stacked up into a nice pile that, when sifted through, led to feelings of extreme discouragement and deep insecurities.

At a time when I wanted to trust God to provide a clear path, I found it difficult to believe He even saw I was walking through the fog.  I found it difficult to believe He wasn’t overlooking me.

The morning I found my quarter, I was going through the book of John.  It’s taken me several weeks to get through this book because of the abundance of stories about the life of Jesus and His ministry.  I posted about a few lessons Jesus has been teaching me through my study of John here. 

The last chapter in John is a story I recognized as one I’ve read many times before.  In the past, I’ve caught myself zoning out a few times because I felt like I already knew it, so why bother paying attention?  When I focused in on what this scripture is truly saying, I realized I failed to see the many ways Jesus shows up when people feel overlooked.

The chapter begins by describing an early morning on the boat with John, Peter and a few others fishing close to the mainland.  It was a few days after Jesus’s resurrection from being crucified on the cross.

The men sat in the boat for several hours with expectant hearts and an open net, hoping to get a catch; but the empty net proved the only thing they were catching was disappointment and discouragement.  After a few hours of trying, they were ready to give up.  Not getting what you think you should is never easy to accept. 

As they were about to head back, a voice from the shore called out to them.  It told them to cast their nets to the right rather than to the left of the boat.  The men couldn’t see who was speaking to them because it was dark but, with no reason not to listen, they tossed it to the right.  As they began to reel it in, they had difficulty because the net was heavy from the weight of the fish they caught. 

One hundred and fifty-three fish was in the net. 

John called out, “That is the Lord!”  The overflowing net was proof of His abundant faithfulness. When they were disappointed and discouraged because they weren’t reeling in what they expected, Jesus showed up and provided them with fish beyond their expectations. I like to think this was Jesus’s way of reminding the men that He was still working even when they couldn’t see Him in the darkness and through the fog.

At this moment, John immediately recognized this wasn’t luck or coincidence, it was the Lord- and he called it out.  Jesus made a way even when it seemed unlikely and even when it seemed like the situation wasn’t good.

If He did it for a group of men while they were fishing, He can do that for us too- and He does.

When Peter heard John make this statement, he immediately jumped out of the boat and swam to Jesus.  I giggle when I read this part because I wonder what made Peter think his swimming would be faster than a boat.  I don’t get the logic (typical man LOL), but I love his heart behind it!  He didn’t bother thinking because he was so excited to be with Jesus.  He just started swimming.

Peter’s eagerness to be with Jesus meant jumping out of where he comfortably was so he could be close to Him.  As I read the reactions of both John and Peter, I’m humbled.

How many times has Jesus shown up in my life, and I fail to recognize it’s really Him?

How many times do I feel like He’s overlooked me like a penny in the parking lot because I don’t think it’s worth bending down for?  And how many times is Jesus standing there with something even better than a penny- a shiny little quarter that’s 25 TIMES better than a penny- to prove He’s got something better than I expected.  Sometimes we have to wait for His timing and direction.

Feeling overlooked by God isn’t easy.  Feeling forgotten isn’t easy- but I promise He hasn’t overlooked or forgotten you.

I want to be able to immediately see Jesus when He’s working in my life and call it out.  I want to be able to immediately have the eagerness to jump out of my boat of comfort to get uncomfortable, so I can see Jesus working more closely- EVEN and especially when it doesn’t look the way I expect.  We’re expecting pennies, so we end up missing valuable quarters because we aren’t even looking.

While you don’t want to not be bothered by one cent pennies, He has shiny quarters scattered all over the parking lot.

God wants to work in your life.  He wants to use you.  When you see that He is, recognize that it is not a COINcidence (sorry, I had to)- it’s Jesus giving you His best, which is always better than we expect.

Sometimes, the messiness of life is going to feel like God isn’t listening, like He isn’t hearing us, and like we’re a penny that’s not worth bending down to save. 

God shows us through the smallest reminders that He will take the time to bend down and save us even when we feel like no one else will.  For me, that was shown through a quarter.

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