worth Archives - Healthy and Free Living

Being a parent is one of the greatest things in the world…and the hardest. You feel their pain and it crushes your soul. You want to fix everything, yet you realize how little is in your control.

My sweet girl has been struggling this year. I know that a lot of kids are struggling with all the pandemic stuff and it could be a part of her woes. The crazy thing is…yes, she had e-learning the spring of 2020, but she goes to a private school and has been in school full-time this entire year. We don’t watch the news, talk about political things, or live in fear of COVID, etc. at our house. But she is incredibly perceptive (always has been) and picks up on everything…and her 9-year-old mind doesn’t know how to process all of it.

It has translated to anxiety and insecurity. She doesn’t want any attention on her and fears that she is a disappointment and failure. She hides herself and fluctuates between anger and tears.

My daughter is incredible. She is beautiful inside and out. She is smart, brave, kind, and caring. She loves and feels SO big. And it breaks my heart that she can’t see it.

I tell her everything that I love about her. I hold her and hug her. I pray for her and point her to God. I’m working with her to find the positive instead of focusing on the negative.

I know that God loves her even more than me and has a plan for her life, but right now, it’s hard and my heart breaks for her. However, I trust Him with her life. She is a child of God and loved beyond measure. I pray that she would see herself as God sees her and that she will find her worth in Him.

I was listening to a podcast the other day by Marie Forleo and she was talking with someone about determining your worth in business. They were talking about how when you are looking at your worth, whether business or personal, you can’t allow other people to determine your worth. Their thought was that you determine your worth in life.

Yes, other people don’t determine my worth in life and not hearing from someone doesn’t determine my value. My worth is not based on what other people think of me but, honestly, I don’t believe that it’s just about me determining my own worth. See, I don’t trust myself. I’m my worst critic and don’t always believe my true worth. Oftentimes, I dwell on thinking I should have done more or that I’m a crappy mom, etc. Clearly, I’m not good at determining my own worth. So, even though I don’t want others to determine my worth, determining my own worth feels like a big weight as well.

Here’s what I have found: My worth is founded in what God thinks of me. God, my Creator, loves me as I am. I am a Child of God. He made me and I am worth SO MUCH because of Him. And. So. Are. YOU. Whether people believe in God or not, He created them and He loves them. He loves each and every one of us. And all of our worth is vast beyond what we can even imagine.

So, what does this mean for your own life? I have two takeaways.

1. How do you treat yourself if you truly believe that your worth is based on what God thinks of you?

Guess what? You are worth taking time to feed yourself well. You are worth spending the time to feed yourself well/exercising/taking the mental break, etc.

2. Since our worth is based on God and we are ALL loved by Him…how does that change how I treat other people?

Not only do I have worth and am invaluable, but those people walking down the street, even the person who honked at me or cut me off while driving, all of them have worth as well. And they are loved by a Creator who loves them more than they can imagine. I think if more of us thought about other people’s worth when we respond to the environment around us and what we see on social media, it would change how we would respond to them.

So, what is your worth? Where do you find your worth? Are you showing that in your own life and the way you treat yourself? Are you showing that in the way you treat other people?