Jennifer Rothschild - Invisible for Young Women: How You Feel Is Not Who You Are

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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Cover by Harvest House Publishers Inc., Eugene, Oregon

Cover photos Darrin Henry, Jo Ann Snover / Shutterstock; DonNichols / iStock

INVISIBLE FOR YOUNG WOMEN

Copyright 2016 by Jennifer Rothschild

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97402

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rothschild, Jennifer

Invisible for young women / Jennifer Rothschild.

pages cm

ISBN 978-0-7369-6575-0 (pbk.)

ISBN 978-0-7369-6576-7 (eBook)

1. Bible. HoseaCriticism, interpretation, etc. 2. God (Christianity)LoveBiblical teaching. 3. Young womenReligious life. I. Title.

BS1565.52.R68 2016

224'.606dc23

2015023106

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Contents

To my nieces

Justine and Juliet Jolly

Know this: G OD is God, and God, G OD .

He made us; we didnt make him.

Were his people, his well-tended sheep.

P SALM 100:3 MSG

Sarah smiled at herself in the mirror and wondered, What in the world is going on? Her day had started off on a pretty terrific note. Shed popped out of bed the first time her alarm went off. She had even laid out her clothes and packed her backpack the night before. Shewait for itate breakfast, and not just any breakfast! She had oatmeal and some OJ instead of the usual granola bar and bottle of water her mom handed her as she flew out the door. It was going to be a good day. Sure, it would be a busy daySpanish test, play rehearsal, and Bible studybut she liked being busy. It was who she was. Sarah was a good Christian, a good friend, and a good girl who got good grades!

When she got to school and saw her BFF, Makayla, she noticed how cute her friend looked again. Makayla always wore the latest styles and had her braces for only a few months before theyd been removed to show off a sparkling white smile. Sarah, on the other hand, was heading into her fifth year of braces with no end in sight. And why does Makayla have to have such perfect skin too? Sarah suddenly became completely self-conscious. I wonder if anyone can see this dumb pimple on my chin , she worried.

When Seora Sanchez handed out the Spanish tests, Sarahs early morning confidence took a dive. Unit six vocabulary test? Sarah panicked. I thought we were supposed to study unit five vocab! Glancing around, Sarah saw the rest of her classmates effortlessly filling in all the blanks on their tests. There goes my A , she thought. #epicfail At least I have the play to look forward to. The drama club had recently held spring play auditions, and all Sarahs friends assured her she was a shoo-in for the main role. Sarah was a good actresseverybody said so. She felt that her voice lessons had been a big help in auditioning for the starring role since the play was a musical.

But when she walked into the theater after school and saw the crowd around the newly posted cast list, Sarahs heart sank. Everyone was saying way to go and congratulations and you deserved it to her main competition, Chloe, who also had perfect skin and no braces. #epicfake

When Sarah finally made her way to the cast list, sure enough, Chloes name was right next to the starring rolethe role Sarah wanted. Sarahs role? Villager. Its perfect for a good girl with not-so-good grades, braces, and a giant zit on her chin! she thought to herself. This is going to be just another face-in-the-crowd role. I might as well be invisible.

At that point, it was a good day gone bad. Sarah knew she should go to Bible study. She could tell her friends all about her rotten day, and it would feel so good to vent. But as she played the scene in her mind, she realized how stupid it would sound: Im jealous of my friend because she doesnt have braces anymore. I was the only idiot who studied the wrong Spanish vocabulary words. I felt so awkward looking at the cast list when everyone else was congratulating Chloe.

So instead of going to Bible study, Sarah stayed home. She told her mom she had to catch up on her Spanish (which was true!), but in reality she was just done with not measuring up to her friends and classmates. She considered reading her Bible, decorating those picture frames shed bought at the craft store with washi tape, and beginning that devotional shed gotten for Christmas.

But after she ate dinner, showered, and studied for a little bit, Sarah found herself reaching for her phone. Just a little social media before I start on that new devotional , she told herself. Ill just see whats on Instagram for five minutes before I study my Spanish.

Five minutes turned into ten minutes and then an hour as Sarah scrolled through her Instagram feed, scrutinizing the photos of her friends. Of course theres Chloe striking a pose next to the cast list! Man, just look at all the comments. Everyone loves her! No wonder I didnt get the role. Makaylas smile always looks so perfect. I wish I was as pretty as she is. Everyones always saying how gorgeous she looks. Wait! Makayla and Caitlyn went out for ice cream together? I wonder why they didnt invite me?

Sarahs devotional sat unopened on her nightstand as she continued to search through the photos and comments. Noticing that her battery was about to die, she plugged her phone in and headed to the bathroom to brush her teethsuch a chore with braces!wash her face, and put on Clearasil (which probably nobody else had to use!). And thats when she looked in the mirror and asked herself again, What in the world is going on? Im usually pretty upbeat about stuff. I know Im not perfect, but why am I feeling like such a nobody all of a sudden? Everyone else is so smart and beautiful and talentedand then theres me, Sarah the invisible!