More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ – Philippians 3:8

I got this in the mail last week. It is now one of my most treasured possessions. I keep it next to me on my table next to my recliner, and I read it every single day. It brings tears to my eyes when I look at it. I show it to visitors like a proud parent. I cannot explain to you what this simple scrawled note means to me.

See, it was written by a sister of my heart who was told she’d never write again. Who was told she’d never understand the language intricacies to relearn to read and write anyway. Much less hold a pen. She had a catastrophic stroke. She died. She had 6 more strokes in the following days after being revived. She wanted to give up. She missed heaven. She was broken.

This note has come to represent so much more to me than it seems on the surface.

It is proof that what is treasured is not the perfect and the worldly standard of beauty. It brings to light that what matters is not how much one can do or how well one can do it.

No, what matters is that we persevere. In some way, all of us who miss heaven every day pick up that pen and bite the tip of our tongue as we struggle to complete what once was a simple task. All of us stare the darkness in the face and stick our tongue out and our fingers in our ears at it.

We think we are less because we are different. We think we are lower because life is harder. We think no one would want what we have to offer, even if we manage to figure out what that is. We feel this way because we think our offerings are pitiful and therefore have such little value, if any at all.

But oh, I know for a fact after receiving this note in my mailbox that our offerings are even more precious to the recipients than they ever have been before. The reality is exactly the opposite of our perception.

So just in case you didn’t know, every single tiny challenge you meet matters. It ripples and delights and inspires.

Keep going. Keep making a difference. Trust the truth and block out the whispered lies.

Send out your best into the world and know, with certainty, that it will thrill.

Dear Lord, thank you for my precious friend whose love fills my heart up to bursting. Thank you for reassuring me through her that what I have to offer is still valuable, too. In Jesus’ Name, Amen…

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May God Bless You,

Shelly