You Are Somebody!

Each day I ride my bicycle past two high schools on my way to work. Many students walk or ride their own bicycles past me. There is one student that I notice each day. He walks by himself. His hair is combed so far forward that he looks at the world like a sheepdog. He never talks to anyone. He neither gives me more or less sidewalk as I pass by.

Of course there are others students who looked like they are dressed for a costume party but this young man has intrigued me. He is hiding behind that hair. You can not see his eyes. I wonder if he can see much either.

This morning I began to wonder why he wears his hair this way. I don't see any of the other students with their hair like this. It may be popular somewhere but it doesn't seem to be at either high school. Why does he want to be so different?

The answer is simple: he wants to be somebody. He wants to be noticed though he may not act like it. He wants to be admired. He wants someone to tell him that he has value.

This condition is foremost when people reach high school. Cliques form. People are left out. There is always someone ready to tell you that you are nobody. Even the teachers may not help. They may not be able to.

You would think that each student would be elevated to somebody by their parents. Maybe they are but being recognized by your peers is a whole other level of somebody.

Parents need to give their children what they need, though. Each child needs to be told that he or she is loved and that the parent is proud of them. The parent also needs to identify what the child is good at and give the child compliments. A child has a hard time recognizing that he is somebody without his parents telling him he is. These three things will certainly help.

I would like to tell the young man that I pass that he is somebody even if no one else tells him that he is. He is somebody even if his parents don't tell him that he is. He is somebody even if all his classmates tell him that he is a loser. He is somebody even if his teacher never says an encouraging word.

He is somebody because the God of the universe loves him. He is somebody because God's only Son died for him. He is somebody because God is seeking him. He is somebody because God has a hope and future that is more wonderful than he can imagine already planned for him.

You, who read this blog, are somebody, too. Don't you find it strange that you can get fifty compliments and one criticism and you will spend all your time thinking about the criticism? It seems that we fear that we are nobody. Most of our lives are spent either living up to or living down what we think other people think of us.

You are somebody no matter if everyone on the earth tells you that you are not. You are loved even if your spouse says he or she doesn't love you any more. You are great at something even when the experts tell you that you are not. Look at all the famous actors and writers who were told they were not any good at their trade. The only one that wasn't any good at their trade was the people who told these, now, famous people that they weren't any good.

Remember that you are somebody no matter what happens today. In fact, you are amazing! Go ahead and say it out loud, "I am amazing!"

Of course, that is because God made you that way.