What's Your Value???

Someone on my job posted this and I just knew I had to share it with you.

Twenty Dollars- Author Unknown
A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?" Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you- but first let me do this." He proceeded to crumple the $20 note up. He then asked, "Who still wants it?" Still the hands were up in the air.
"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. "Now, who still wants it?" Still the hands went up into the air.
"My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20.
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.
Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. the worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by...Who we are. You are special- don't ever forget it.

Of course, I read this with my spiritual eyes. I began to think about how God created us. We sin each and every day, but God refuses to turn his back to us. We mistreat Him and others, yet He still chooses to love us. We don't love ourselves at times, but God still does. Just like those people who saw the value in that bill, God sees the value in us. He created us, so He knows exactly what we are worth, even when we can't see it.
When we don't see our worth with spiritual eyes, we allow people to mistreat us. We allow ourselves to live in fear. We allow our joy to be stolen by such things as negativity and depression. We must pray and ask God to help us see our value and worth the way that He does.
Our value and our worth become apparent to us when we recognize and realize what our purpose in life is. When we know why God created us, what calling He has on our lives, and what our role is in building His kingdom, our value and worth become more visible to us.
We spend so much time focusing on all of the things that have gone wrong in our lives. Just like the author wrote, many things may happen in our lives, but we must focus on our main purpose.
It is my belief that being crumpled, stepped on, mistreated, hurt, torn, and ground into the dirt only adds more value to my life. It gives me a testimony! It enables me to help someone who is unable to help them self when going through the storm just like I did.
God takes us through things for our good. His goal is not only to teach us a lesson, but also to help us see our worth in Him. He wants to strengthen us and make us draw closer to Him. It is then that we can see what we are worth!
With a humble heart, I know that I am worth having joy, peace, and love in my life. I know that I am worthy of those things because my Father created me! And, unlike that $20 bill, whose worth is only so much, I know that my worth is priceless because of who my Father is, and because of His purpose and plans for my life. That is pure love!
So, when I am crumpled, stepped on, hurt, bruised, torn, and even have the feeling of defeat, I shall rejoice because I know that I will not depreciate my value, but I will only be strengthened me for my Father's purpose. Thank you Lord for showing me the value that you see in me.

LOVE...Unconditional!!!

I absolutely love having a newborn!!! At this phase in my new little one's life, she loves to be snuggled and cuddled up close to me. When I hold her close and we are skin to skin, I can sense that she feels the ultimate security and comfort. I am sure this is the case with most infants and their parents. I am simply loving this phase in her life. I love how close she desires to be to me. And, as I look at my somewhat independent son, who turned six yesterday, it is a vivid reminder that as Zarryn grows, she will require less of this type of interaction and more of another. If it be in God's will, one day she will be all grown up and independent.

I began to ponder upon the complexity of our relationship with God. Unlike the flesh that matures and requires less of this new infant and mother interaction, our spirits should always remain in that comforting place. We should always long to feel God's spirit in us and the comfort of His arms wrapped tightly around and holding us securely.

Spiritual growth is actually the opposite of our physical growth. As a child grows, it becomes more independent. It begins to learn to do things for itself. As we grow spiritually, we should become more dependent. We should be able to rest in God's security and covering, while allowing Him to do things for us.

An infant cries because that is the inherited behavior that they have been given to use as a form of communication. They cry because they are unable to solve the problem independently. They communicate to us that something is wrong or uncomfortable in the request that we come and fix it. They have no other choice but to trust that someone who can aid them will come and fix the uncomfortable situation.

This is exactly how we should be with God. God wants us to surrender unto Him, who has the ability and the power to fix, or help us deal with, our current situations. Sometimes, we think we are so independent and forget about our parent, God. Therefore, He has to set up situations and send circumstances our way that we do not possess the power or strength to fix. We may have walked away and He is unable to feel our closeness any longer.

I desire to feel the closeness of my child as much as she does, if not more. God is just like we are as parents. He wants us to be close to Him. He wants us to connect with Him and allow Him to "parent" us! He wants to feel our hearts when we pour out to Him.

I could not imagine, if my children became adults and at the point where they thought they were all grown up and did not need me anymore, they would only call me when they did not have the resources to problem solve on their own. I would feel so used if they only called to borrow money, but not to just say hello and to tell me how much they love me.

I can only imagine how God may feel when we neglect Him! I know in my growth as a Christian, there have been times when I have been guilty of only praying when I was broke or my feelings were hurt. Thinking about our relationships with God this way, looking at Him as a parent, should put things into perspective for us.

How often do we talk to God...sincerely...and, how often are we asking Him for something? How often do we just talk to Him to let Him know how much we love Him for who He is and for what He has done for us? How often do we disappoint Him when He lends us His ear hoping to hear praises to His name, but only receives words of complaints?

I am typing now, nearly in tears just thinking about how I have treated my wonderful and kind Father. But the best part is...He forgives me and still loves me! Oh, how sweet!!! Even though I may have used Him and treated him disrespectfully, He still loves me. That is agape love! Unconditional and never fading. I MUST love my Father the same way that He loves me!

Thank You God! I Love you!!!