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"I was the guy that never got chosen by either side." The speaker of these words was a man by the name of Mack Thorson. He was reflecting on the ordinary and basically unimportant events of his life. "You know what I mean," he said in earnest to the group gathered in Pastor Willingham's office. "There's always one or two guys that don't get chosen when you're kids getting ready to play ball. You understand me pretty well if you know that I was one of those who never got chosen. I never got invited to anything. I was always left out. I was, after all, one of the smallest kids in school. I didn't look like much of an athlete and, to tell you the truth, I really wasn't very good at sports. Still, it hurt to be left out all the time."

"But playing ball wasn't the worst of it. It really started at home. I was the youngest of four children and I just didn't get very much attention. Mom and Dad were kind of tired of raising kids by the time I came along. They didn't have much time for me. I just kind of grew up thinking that I wasn't a very important person. I still think that. I mean, look at me. I've got a small job at a big factory. Anybody could do what I do! I guess I'm the original 'little guy.' To tell you the truth, I can't imagine that anyone could feel less important than I feel. Who cares about me anyway?"

The ten or so people in Pastor Willingham's office listened intently to Mack Thorson's story. But, nobody said a word. This was the first night that this group had met with their pastor. It was billed as a four-week session for people with low self-esteem. Pastor Willingham had begun the first session by simply inviting everyone to tell a bit of their life story. Mack had been the first to speak. Pastor Willingham said a few words in response to Mack's story and then invited Sophia Melendez to speak.

There was a hush in the room while Ms. Melendez summoned up the courage to speak. "Ugly duckling," Sophia finally blurted out with her face half buried in her handkerchief. "That's what I was. That's what I am. I've always been the ugly duckling. I started wearing glasses in the third grade. I had big braces on my teeth for a couple of years. I could hardly stand to look at myself in the mirror. I was just so darned ugly. It's hard for me to talk about it even today."

"Needless to say, I didn't have many friends. I was ashamed to try to make friends with anybody. On the other hand, when kids approached me, I didn't really trust them. 'Why are you coming around me?' I always thought to myself. 'Nobody else cares about me. Why should you?' "

"Since this is a church group I should probably say that I've never felt very important in God's eyes either. I sort of grew up in the church, but I left it for a long time. I just didn't feel welcome. I didn't feel like I belonged. I'm just now trying to make my way back. What's the point, you know? We always used to sing, 'Jesus Loves Me.' I sang it, but I never believed it. Nobody else loved me, why should Jesus? I'm sure that my life is of no importance to God whatsoever. I don't like to say it that way this being a church group and all, but that's the way it has always seemed to me. I'm sort of surprised, you know, that Pastor Willingham invited me to be here."