What marvelous love the Father has extended to us! Just look at it—we’re called children of God! That’s who we really are.  (1 John 3:1, The Message)

When was the last time someone looked deeply into your eyes and said you were greatly valued? That something you did was excellent? That you were worthy of their time or energy or friendship? That happened to me recently quite unexpectedly — unexpectedly enough that it caught me off guard and brought tears to my eyes.

The values I developed growing up were excellent, but what I seemed to miss was feeling valued. Being products of the Great Depression, my parents stayed extremely busy trying to make life better for their four daughters than it had been for them. One of the unintended consequences of that upbringing was a lack of emotional connection. We were taught to simply do the right thing and to be careful that we not think too highly of ourselves. I remember my mother saying that she didn’t want to brag on us or her grandchildren because she didn’t want us to “get a big head.”

What I didn’t understand I was missing until I became an adult was that basic need to feel special. All of us need to feel that we are valued and that we have the ability to accomplish great things. I’ve tended to do lots of things in my life, probably in some misguided attempt to prove my value — if only to myself. I’ve also doubted the talents God has given me, especially my creative abilities.

It’s taken years for me to come to the realization that my value to God is not in question. I am beloved of him simply because I’m his child. He created me to be exactly who I am with exactly the talents he wanted me to develop.

This year I decided to work on developing confidence in one of those talents by attending the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference (brmcwc.com). Although I asked myself what in the world I was doing there, I decided to sign up for a 15-minute evaluation session with conference co-director Edie Melson. That’s when it happened. When she read one of my attempts at blogging, looked deeply into my eyes and called me a very  good writer, I was brought to tears. I didn’t expect that. It certainly felt good, though.

At that point I decided I had doubted long enough. If God believed in me enough to entrust me with even a small measure of writing talent, then it was time for me to begin to develop it. It was time to admit that I do write and, therefore, I am a writer. I simply need to trust God for my confidence and my ability and keep putting pen to paper … or fingers to keyboard.

This incident also convinced me that I should be looking deeply into the eyes of others in my life to tell them how much I value them and how important they are in God’s story. I believe we could accomplish even greater things in His kingdom if we were to routinely hear that from the people around us.

Do you hear routinely from your family or friends how important and valued you are? Have you ever heard it?

Have you ever said it to someone else? Let’s give it a try this week and see what a difference we can make in someone else’s life.

The Lord will bless our efforts to bless others.

Please comment below how you’ve let others know they are beloved by God and by you or how others have done that for you.

Dee Baker