You Are Not a Misfit

You Are Not a Misfit

Have you ever feel like you didn’t fit in? Like a misfit?

Growing up, I felt misunderstood and a misfit who was always on the outside.

I related to the residents on the Island of Misfit Toys in Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. If you remember, Rudolph, Herbie the elf, and Yukon Cornelius go on an adventure to find a place where their gifts and talents are appreciated and understood. They come to the Island of Misfit Toys, where toys that don’t fit the usual mold wait for Santa to come and find them a home to be loved.

We all long for a place to be accepted, loved, and encouraged. We wish for our gifts and talents to be appreciated and needed. The deepest longing for the human heart is to be seen and heard. I have heard it said that the opposite of love is not hate but apathy. Apathy means no feeling or acknowledgment, overlooked and ignored like a wallflower at the school dance.

Maybe that is you today. Those around you walk by without a word. You feel invisible and want to shout, “Hey, look at me. I am here, and I matter. I have a story to share that you may find interesting and learn from.” I want to tell you that you are seen, heard, and you matter.

But I don’t want you to believe you matter or have a purpose because I write it here. What matters is that you understand how much your Creator loves you. He is the one who hears you, sees you, and knows you. In His love letter, the Bible, He reminds us of how much He cares and delights in us. Let’s look at a few verses to remind us.

• “For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NLT)
• “Can a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has borne? Though she may forget, I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” (Isaiah 49:15-16a NIV)
• “The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3 NIV)
• “The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. He will drive out your enemies before you, saying, ‘Destroy them!” (Deuteronomy 33:27 NIV)
• “But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For he raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-6 NLT)
• “See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him.” (1 John 3:1 NLT)

And these are just a few verses that speak of His everlasting covenant love for us. The love that will never let you go. The love that is steadfast and everlasting.

I learned His love in my life gives me a voice and a purpose. I have a message to share with the one who wants to listen. He leads me to that one in His time. As I put one foot in front of the other and shine the message of my heart, He smiles at my efforts as I work with Him.

Maybe you have taken up residence on the Island of Misfit Toys, and the lie in your head tells you that you are not heard or seen. But it is just a lie, an untruth. The truth is that God sees you and hears you. He has a purpose and a mission for you to accomplish. We are His one-of-a-kind masterpiece created for good purposes (Ephesians 2:10).

So, let’s shine for Him today and make the world a brighter place in your own way. Maybe it’s time to send that friend a text or, even better, an old-fashioned note that you are thinking of them. Take that elderly neighbor a plate of cookies and join them for tea and conversation. Smile at the check-out clerk at the grocery store. Pay for the order of the car behind you in the line at Starbucks. Then tell me about it. I’d love to hear YOUR story about how you made YOUR world brighter.

Blessings until next time,

Mary H.

For Further Study:

Read the story of Hagar in Genesis 16:1-13 and Genesis 21:9-21. Note how God saw and heard Hagar and her son Ishmael.