We all have worth.
Real, documented, unchangeable worth.
If we pay attention to the world, it tells us a different story, doesn’t it? In the pages of magazines and on social media, we’re told we need to be thin and fit. Or we need to have a big booty that’s the current trend. (What happens to all the big booties when little booties are on trend??)
We need to be tan and look sun-kissed year round.
We need to have perfectly clean and impeccably decorated homes. Our furniture, of course, is upcycled–something we rescued roadside, brought home, and refinished then weathered all in one afternoon in our spare time after working, driving carpool, going to games, practices and concerts, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and…Sleep? Who needs it?
Listen, I do enjoy Pinterest and HGTV and I dream of creating these cool projects and remodels. I’ve even done some of them already. But nobody is less than if they can’t “do it all.”
And everyone’s “all” is different. Doing and having “it all” is ever-evolving.
Your value and self-worth should not be directly (or indirectly) linked to what you look like or what you accomplish.
Did you know that?
Did you know that how much money you earn has nothing to do with your value? Your net worth may be what you have, but it’s not what or who you are.
You aren’t your pants size or hair color. You’re not the carats in your wedding ring or the degrees that adorn your wall. You’re not the square footage of your home or the number of cookies you’ve provided for the PTA bake sale.
While all those things can be part of your life and offer some satisfaction, they don’t add to or subtract from your inherent value, your soul worth.
Did you know that you’re “fearfully and wonderfully made”?
Your Creator gave his son not just to die, He gave his son to be ridiculed, tortured in ways we can’t understand, and then die so we could be saved. He loves us and values us that much. Think about it. God gave his son for the people who don’t believe in him, who mock him even. But still he sacrificed for them too, for us all…
…because we are infinitely loved and valued.
Don’t look to a magazine or a TV show to find your worth.
Don’t measure yourself up against the “perfect lives” some folks portray on Facebook. Not everyone is airing their private pain there. Sometimes all we see is the good stuff. Nobody has a perfect life. Perfection is a sneaky bugger and fast too. We will never catch perfection, so why chase it?
Your worth will always be priceless, immeasurable. It was determined long ago and no weight loss or gain…no bank account…no page views on your blog or likes on your Facebook page…will ever change it.
You are worthy and loved beyond comprehension. Don’t ever let anyone or anything change your mind about that.
Be encouraged,
Meet Melanie P. :
Melanie Pickett is a mom, wife, writer, blogger, and Jesus girl. Melanie spends most of her time at her own blog, melaniespickett.com where she writes about her domestic abuse survival, healthy relationships, life, and faith. She is busy with her work in progress, her first nonfiction book. Melanie contributes to Sonoma Christian Home and has been featured on BlogHer.com and published on Splickety Magazine, Whole Magazine, Breathe Writers Conference blog, and various other blogs as a guest writer. She is a volunteer at Proverbs 31 Online Bible Studies. Having worked in the medical field for nearly two decades, Melanie recently “retired” so she could concentrate on her family and writing career. She is also a substitute teacher. Besides writing, Melanie loves to read, playing piano, listening to music, helping and encouraging others, volunteering, movies, dreaming of tropical getaways, and hanging out and cheering on her very favorite people: her family. Melanie lives in west Michigan with her husband, two teen children, and her pug Gracie. They recently said “until we meet again” to their beloved beabrador Lillie. Her favorite Bible verse is Jeremiah 29:11 and one of her favorite quotes is: “They call us the dreamers, but we’re the ones who never sleep.”
Defying Shadows 