While at my daughter's swim team practice, one of the moms sat by me and started asking me some "get to know you" questions.  She started off with the basics - where do we live, what do I do for work, what does my husband do, etc.  After a couple minutes, she asked me a fairly unique question.  She asked me, "If my life were high school, who would I be in it?"  Odd.  I answered pretty quickly with, "The chubby girl in the back of the room who ended up marrying the Prom King."  She then told me I needed to make sure that I was the Prom Queen of my own life.  Huh.  Thought provoking, I must say.  To be honest, I gave her the short version of it all.  Yes, I am the chubby girl in the back of the classroom.  I am the one that people would refer to as "Oh, you know, that girl.  What's her name?"  I am the one who only gets invited to events as my husband's "plus one" and even then, pluses aren't always invited.  Why am I in the back of the class?  Well, after years of being bullied, I found that I hate having attention.  Am I unworthy of it?  No.  I just am not the kind of person who needs praise for a 4.0+ GPA.  Sometimes, my own celebration of knowing I beat my personal best is better to me than a parade through town would be.  I may be the girl with a 4.0+, but I am not the valedictorian.  To give a speech on stage would be a fate worse than death.  I am "just a stay at home mom" and "just a home school mom", not the surgeon I once wanted to be.  Does that make me less worthy?  No.  I am investing my knowledge into the lives of my children.  Do I think every mom should give up her career?  No.  Those valedictorians out there need to be doing what they are for the good of themselves and their children, and especially to the glory of God.  Am I a homecoming queen like my mom?  No.  Popularity really never found me.  After high school, I had a rough patch in life and lost the majority of the friends that I thought would have stood by me and help me through.  I moved to a new place and never really "got out there" to meet people.  I have a few friends, most of whom are not that close.  The ones who are close, though, know the worst of me and still love me without judgment.  I'd take them over a crowd who couldn't care less.  One of those friends is my husband.  Yep, that Prom king I mentioned earlier.  He was the real under dog.  Unwanted by his family, bullied in school - but once he started his career and we started going to our church, he really blossomed.  Now, when I re-introduce myself to people, I remind them that I am "Wes' wife" as the "Jamie" I told them before never rings a bell.  My husband is currently in Alabama by invitation to help with post-tornado disaster relief.  I am so happy he was able to go.  He has always wanted to do something like this.  Honestly, though, I was a little hurt when only he was invited.  After all, I am the daughter and sister of carpenters and have experience rebuilding houses in the jungles of Ecuador.  It is ok, though.  If I had gone, I would not have been able to show my son that he was more important to me than giving into my fear of swimming at the Y.  (Yes. I fear swimming publicly.  It's a whole other topic we will leave for another day.) The point of all of this, though, is that I don't need to be the prom queen of my own life.  If I were, it would be all about me rather than about what service I can do for others (usually secretly) to bring glory to God.  I don't need to be on stage, getting a crown and a pat on the back.  I have so much joy sitting back here, watching my small actions light up the faces of others and knowing that God is smiling, too.