Last One Picked? Play Anyway
by Tracie Miles
(corrected version)
I cannot tell you how many times I have been the last one picked, and I am not talking about on the playground. I’ve been passed over and underestimated. I have been looked over and unseen.
But I play anyway.
In seventh grade, I asked my teacher if I could test into taking Algebra early. I was positive Algebra would be something I could be good at. When I asked her, she turned to me and told me I was not smart enough. She didn’t even let me take the test.
The next year, I crushed my eighth-grade math class to the point the teacher would send some of the students to me with their questions when she was busy. I also averaged over 100% in my high school Algebra, Geometry and Algebra 2 classes. I also aced my college Calculus class.
I was told I wasn’t good enough, but I played the game anyway.
I have been passed over for countless opportunities over the years that I would have been more than qualified for.
Rather than being frustrated with where I’m at, I have celebrated the people that were picked. I have then put my head down, pushed through and been awarded time and time again with various Employee of the Month awards at every company I have worked for.
I was passed over for other people, but I played the game anyway.
Am I where I want to be? No, no I’m not. But I take advantage of where I’m at to do what I know I have been called to do.
I’ve been the last one picked, but I play the game anyway.
Why do I play the game anyway? Because of Jesus.
Jesus and His disciples were the last ones picked. They were the rejects and the outcasts. They were unschooled, ordinary men. (Acts 4:13) What’s beautiful about this is that their last-picked status didn’t place them at a disadvantage — it set them apart.
Have you been passed over or underestimated? Have you been overlooked or unseen? This is not a disadvantage. This is an opportunity to be set apart.
Do you feel like the last one picked? Play anyway.
By Tiffany Elder, COMPEL Training Member
Tracie Miles
Tracie Miles has been the Director of COMPEL Training at Proverbs 31 Ministries since January 2017, and has been volunteering on the speaker and writer teams for Proverbs 31 since 2007. Tracie is an author coach who works one on one with writers of all levels to help them pursue their writing dreams, and can be found at www.traciemiles.com. She is the author of seven bestselling books, including Living Unbroken, Love Life Again, Unsinkable Faith, Stress Less Living and Your Life Still Counts, and has a new book releasing July 2024 called God's Got You: Embracing New Beginnings With Courage and Confidence. She is also the founder of the national Living Unbroken Divorce Recovery Program, a 7 week study series to help women heal and recover together. Tracie has three grown children, two of whom are married, and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can connect with Tracie on her website at www.traciemiles.com as well as on Facebook and Instagram.
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