NEVER UNDERSTIMATE YOUR VALUE

When I first saw this picture, I laughed out loud, because the “Special Deal” doesn’t offer any additional value! Normally when I think of value, I think of cutting coupons, shopping sales and saving on shipping costs. Yet there's also another value that didn't enter my awareness until yesterday afternoon.

I had just finished having a preventative procedure at the hospital. The hospital is always buzzing with activity - anxious grandparents rushing to see their grand babies for the first time, hospital maintenance workers on ladders replacing broken light bulbs, employees in blue colored scrubs and shower caps dragging themselves out of the cafeteria to finish out the second half of the work day and volunteers in their raspberry colored vests greeting hospital visitors with a smile, a quick answer and a goodbye wave. Yet there was something else I experienced while walking through the hospital.

There's a value placed on being healthy. Why not? It should be something we all aim to achieve. However, I've always felt less of a person - someone with less value than others - because of my weight. Moreover I felt like my perceived "value" was immediately evident to others the minute they saw me and they thought the same way about me and my worth.

Despite losing 30 pounds with a lot more to go, I realize I have as much worth as the healthiest, fittest person. I need to let go of the irrational thought that I have less worth than my thinnest counterparts. Don't get me wrong, there's GREAT value in losing weight - I'm excited to experience a healthier future with my family and friends - but who I am as a person isn't dependent on the numbers of a scale. Who I am isn't dependent on other's perceptions of me. Who I am isn't dependent on my waist size! Keeping that in mind will help me overcome the shame and insecurities I feel about being overweight.

I'm always looking for a special deal - something with extra value - little did I realize we can all find that within ourselves!

Value health. Value your body. Value your relationships. Value your life. Yet remember the one who values you the most - unconditionally - and that's God.