What Are You Worth?

Hey team!  Institute was so good that I thought I'd share some of what we said!

The teacher at one point stopped the class and had us ponder on the moment of 3:00 p.m. today. What were we doing? Who were we talking to? What were we thinking or feeling about that person?

Then he had us stop again after sharing with our neighbor that moment. Then he had us answer in our heads the question:

What am I worth?

There's a story about my sister Dawn that I love. The story goes (as I remember it): She did an internship at Goldman Sach's before she worked there full time. At the beginning of the internship, she felt like she wasn't seen as someone to take seriously. People didn't seem to care about what she had to say.  Sweet Dawn said to herself - These people don't understand who I am. Then she spent the rest of the summer making sure that they did. And by the end of the summer, she was a contributing and important part of the team. There is a person that knew her worth!

I love this story because it reminds me that my worth is not stored in the opinions of those that don't know me. I think of that story whenever I show up in a new place and I feel like I'm once again re-discovering who I am and what my worth is. I keep waiting for that to happen here in Houston, but so far - my core being has yet to be challenged. (I think it has something to do with some key things I learned in Wyoming, which I will not bore you with here, but that this blog post helped me to realize.)

Back to Institute after pondering that question on our own the teacher had us turn to Romans 8:16-17  and then to Romans 8:35-39.

If you're not in the mood to click on those links, just know that those scriptures testify that we are joint heirs with the Savior Jesus Christ and nothing can separate us from His and God's love! I know that my worth comes from many things, but most importantly in the knowledge that I am loved and accepted by my Heavenly Father. I hope that when your self-worth takes a hit - you can remember to turn to those scriptures and remember for yourself who you truly are and forever will be: a child of an infinitely loving Heavenly Father!

I like that my teacher didn't stop there with that testimony. He finished with perhaps the most important question of the evening:

How does this knowledge change that moment at 3:00 p.m. today or any other moment of the day? How does knowing and remember that you are child of God change how you act and feel?

I hope to live tomorrow remembering who I am, and I hope you are able to do the same!