Trying to Make the Varsity Squad

God’s habit of putting us in places we don’t think we belong, just to show us how right He really is. I mentioned that I am working as a TA, what I didn’t mention was that I was not originally chosen for the job. To sum it up: the only reason I am here is because someone else isn’t. When I was notified I didn’t get the job I was devastated; the hope that comes with being an “alternate” did little to comfort me. Well, here I am and I must say that I think the person who was originally chosen made a mistake in not taking the job. For a while I felt as if I didn’t belong here. I reasoned that—like in sports—there is a starting lineup and I was merely a backup. I wasn’t chosen to be on the winning team, I was chosen to serve as an emergency replacement if one of the varsity guys got hurt. That put me in a bad place (as if you needed me to say that). What I now realize is that I belong here, that this is where I need to be. The people in charge of hiring me may have looked over my application for a number of reasons, but they couldn’t have predicted how well I’d develop into this role. Frankly, neither could I. God took me from a bummed out second stringer and turned me into a starting left fielder. I don’t know how he did it, but He did. God does a lot of crazy things in our lives, it’s up to us to accept them. As I continue reading through The Cost of Discipleship I keep coming across the idea of a suffering hero. The concept that Jesus was not the Messiah envisioned by the Jewish community because He suffered under the powers of Rome (they originally thought the Messiah would be a great warrior, some people can’t read between the lines when it comes to the prophecies). Jesus was, in some ways, an unlikely hero; yet at the same time He was exactly the kind of hero we needed. Sometimes in life you may find yourself in a position you are uncomfortable with. You may say to yourself “I don’t belong here.” Just remember that God chooses us for a reason, and just like Jesus was the unexpected savior, you may be an unexpected piece of the puzzle too.