our value

In February I was asked to give a motivational speech to a women's group. I was excited to have the opportunity once again to speak and yet when asked, I was just weeks away from starting radiation and I had no idea what I would be feeling like. Since speaking is one of my FAVORITE things to do, I said yes and prayed daily that I would have the strength to do it and for guidance on what to talk about. I was able to speak that night and I felt like it was a true blessing because just a week or so later my health declined and I don't think I would have been able to do it. I believe that I mentioned speaking back then in my blog, and many of you asked me to tell you what I spoke about. I kept saying that I would... but as the radiation progressed, I got weaker and in more pain and it never happened.

Now when I speak, it is usually for an hour and the whole speech would be too long to write in a blog any way. But I felt tonight impressed to tell you the basis of what my talk was on. It was on understanding our value, our true worth. Online I read a story of a motivational speaker and it goes on to tell how he began his speech. I (as a compliment to him or her?) did the same thing and that is how my speech began. Here is the story...

Value

Source 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 dollar bill up.

He then asked, "Who still wants it?"

Still the hands were up in the air.

"Well," he replied, "What if I do this?" And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe.

He picked it up, now all crumpled and dirty. "Now who still wants it?" Still the hands went 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 has happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

“The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE and WHOSE WE ARE. You are special - Don’t EVER forget it.”

I won't be able to tell much more of my speech, maybe some day I will be able to speak where you can hear me? I can tell you  however, unlike the story, I just showed the $20.00 bill and talked about it but...did not give it away! That is the difference between a speaker who speaks for money and one who doesn't ! :)

I do love this subject and it is one that is very close to my heart and although this sounds contrary to what I am saying, it is the very subject that I still have the most struggles with in my life. How can that be? Well, I was a child of incest and self worth is a very hard concept for survivors. It is hard to believe that you could possibly have much value if someone would do something like that to you. 

Maybe the reason I like to talk about it so much, is because it constantly reminds me of what I need to remember and work on. I was reading an article today on a teenager who since the age of one was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. The article talks about how her kindness and determination has changed her life and the lives of those around her.

Two things in the article stood out to me the most, one is the sign that she has over her bed which reads, "SEE YOURSELF AS GOD SEES YOU". Wouldn't we all feel better about ourselves if we remembered that daily?  The second thing was how positive she remains even though this terrible disease has taken away so many things in her life. She just continues to look for the ways that she can make a difference and then she does them.

Great wisdom for all of  us. To remember our value, our great worth! I daily am trying to remember that and when I do...LIFE IS BETTER! I AM HAPPIER and MUCH MORE WILLING TO ENJOY EACH MOMENT AND LOVE AND SERVE THOSE AROUND ME. It doesn't take long to see so many good people in the world, making a difference.

I hope this article will inspire you to feel and do the same!

"How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world."  ~Anne Frank

"Act as if what you do makes a difference.  It does."  ~William James