Press PlayНамуна

What in the world does PRESS PLAY mean? 

Well, think of it this way. Lots of us are on PAUSE. We are hesitant. On the sidelines. Wallflowers. Onlookers. Benchwarmers. Unsure how and where we fit in the world. 

Listen. When I was your age, I was on pause too. I had a hard time fitting in. I was a young black kid growing up in an all-white neighborhood. Nobody looked like me. Nobody spoke the language my parents spoke at home. (My name is Carlos. Can you guess what language we spoke at home?) Nobody celebrated holidays the way my family did. Major pause buttons. 

What I didn’t know at the time was that the reason I was on pause was because I didn’t believe God could have big plans for a kid like Lil Los (that’s what I call my 10-year-old self). There was so much about Lil Los that was not like anyone else, and it made me REALLY self-conscious. I didn’t realize that the key to PRESSING PLAY on LIFE wasn’t getting other kids to like me—it was figuring out who God created me to be! 

So, you want to boost your confidence? Name one thing you wish you were more confident about. Your rainbow-colored braces? Your fraction skills? The fact that you’ll likely only grow to be eye-level to everyone else’s shoulder blades? 

For Lil Los? It was soccer. 

When he first stepped onto the soccer field in fourth grade, he may have been the smallest, slowest kid on the field, BUT he was also the most excited. He couldn’t wait to get the ball and show off all the moves his dad and he had been practicing in the backyard. He was ready to PRESS PLAY! 

He was out there for what seemed like forever, shouting at his teammates to pass him the ball. Nothing. Nada. It’s like they didn’t even know he was there. He ran for nearly an hour and He. Didn’t. Touch. The. Ball. One. Time. 

He felt invisible. He felt like pressing the pause button forever. 

In the car after the game, his dad said, “Carlitos, I’ve never seen you run so fast! You were ALL OVER that field. That time that you went around number eight right before the ball went out of bounds? That was amazing! The way you beat number four to the sideline when the coach called you over? You were so fast! I could see you thinking the whole time you were out there. Nobody was thinking as hard as you were. I’m so proud of you!” 

He couldn’t believe it. His dad had actually seen EVERY SECOND HE WAS OUT THERE. He never took his eyes off him. He went from feeling invisible to feeling like the most-seen player on the team. 

Maybe you’ve felt that way before—invisible. But God not only SEES you, but God is also cheering for you every moment of your life! 

God sees every single part of you because He made you exactly like He wanted to make you—and He thinks you’re wonderful! Yup. Even those things about yourself that you wish you were more confident about—HE THINKS THEY’RE WONDERFUL!