You Are "a People"
A little girl was asked to bring her birth certificate to school one day. Her
mother wisely cautioned her about the important document and told her to be
especially careful with it. But in spite of her good intentions, the child lost
it. When she became aware of its loss, she began to cry.
"What's the problem, Honey?" her teacher asked sympathetically.
The little girl wailed, "I lost my excuse for being born!"
Isn't it wonderful that we don't need an excuse for being born? We need make no
apologies for being who we are. Nobody on planet earth is more or less valuable
than you. Sometimes we need to be reminded of that, especially when our sense of
self-worth is less than it ought to be.
Several years ago, an older friend of mine developed Alzheimer's disease. Bill
had lived an active and productive professional life. But in his latter years,
his wife cared for him at home. He was aware of his increasing dependency on her
and of the debilitating effect of the disease on his mind. Bill gave up
everything he had ever done for himself until eventually nothing was left. As
his mind suffered, his sense of worthiness also took a beating. He felt as if he
were nobody.
There was one group to which he belonged that decided to stay with him during
his decline. He sat on the University of Denver Board of Trustees and was
encouraged by them to continue attending meetings as long as he was able. One of
the board members drove Bill to the meetings and brought him back home
afterward. This continued even after he had lost his ability to remember names,
track a conversation or participate in any meaningful way.
His wife knew that he remained a board member in name only and that their
decision to include him was made solely out of compassion. But Bill seemed to
enjoy himself at the meetings and she reasoned that they were probably good for
him. After he returned from one such meeting of the trustees, his wife asked
him, "Did you have a good meeting, Bill?"
He thought for a moment before replying. Then he answered quite honestly, "I
don't know." After a pause, he added this heartfelt comment: "But they still
think I'm a people."
To them, he was somebody. To them, he mattered. He was still a person of value
and worth. He could no longer read or write or do any of the things that had
been important earlier. But he was still "a people."
You need make no apologies for being who you are. You are a person of value -
unique and beautiful. You are "a people" -- unrepeatable and of infinite worth.
That is something to celebrate!
From Steve Goodier's book TOUCHING MOMENTS
Thanks to Life Support System Publishing, Inc. LifeSupport-subscribe@yahoogroups.com