By Nancy Virden (c)2021

I drove past NASA the other day, a campus on which buildings and named roads form a small, elaborate city. My first visit to NASA was when I took my young children there for a tour. Years later, I had to learn to navigate the area to attend a local Toastmasters Club, a forum for practicing public speaking skills. I listened to an engineer’s proposal on rocket fuels and dared to offer feedback on rocket scientists’ public relations (PR) presentations. It was fascinating learning the personal side of great endeavors.

In a recent PR move, NASA has recently announced an opportunity to have anyone’s name flown around the moon. NASA’s program, Artemis, plans to make sustainable human life possible on the moon. One can sign-up for a spot on a flash drive to be carried by Artemis 1.  

$500 could buy a star years ago. One’s name ended up on a chart somewhere along with the position of the star. Novelist Malraux expressed art as a means to lasting significance, writing, “…art is a revolt, a protest against extinction”. TIME magazine used computer algorithms to create a list of the most significant people in history.

Apparently, we try very hard to find importance, whether that means fame, fortune, or legacy. What bothers me is the fruitlessness of our efforts. You see, we already have value, significance, and uniqueness, and have not been nor ever will be forgotten!

What about Ukrainians and other refugees who are losing everything they’ve earned? What about the child raised in prison because their country’s regime orders children to stay with their mothers who have been convicted of crimes? What about the addict, the emotionally unstable, and the one who believes she is nothing?

God said in Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” In 1 Samuel 16:7, the Lord said to Samuel about a potential new king, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” And with that, God chose a young shepherd to become a great leader of his people.

One of my favorite sentences in scripture is found in 1 Corinthians 1:28. “God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.” These “things” are you and me. They are the shepherd boy, the imprisoned children, the refugees, and those who seem forgotten.

God chooses the broken, abused, confused, and cast-aside people to make His mark on the souls of humankind. He did this by creating each one with purpose and inherent value. The shepherd boy-turned-king wrote, “Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous…” (David, Psalm 139)

As one who was once treated as nothing at all, and who began to believe it, I can say today that due to the unending love of God, I know I matter regardless of whether people support that or not.

Significance in the eyes of people is fleeting at best. God’s point of view is wise and unchanging. Accept his Son and live forever in that love! -COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

1 Corinthians 1: 24-29
Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength…. God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful.  God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important.  As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or for a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. In no way is this website intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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