WHO ARE WE, REALLY?

Yesterday, some of the grandkids came here after school. Here is Hollywood, being given a hug by her mom.

Do all kids do this, swing their feet off the floor when hugging a parent?

The kids had an afternoon snack and then got right to their homework. Here's Mary Poppins.

This is Jo Cool.

His older brother, Guitar Hero.

And since Hollywood is in preschool, she just laid back on the couch and watched TV or played. Her homework time is coming.

I wonder who they will become. Will they grow up and do great things or be just ordinary? Will they save the world, save the rain forests or save the dolphins?

And which is best anyway? Doing great things, saving something? Could ordinary be just as important?

I watched Oprah today, parts of three shows I had recorded. When movie stars came on stage the audience went wild. A couple of women in the audience looked like they were going to faint from excitement. Would they have done the same if they had hung around after the show and someone came out with a push broom and swept up the studio floor? Not likely. And why not?

We are all children of God. We are children of GOD! All of us. We were worthy to be born here, to have this earthly experience and then one day to return to him. Not all of us will have it easy. Not all of us will make women in the audience faint. Some of us will only hear the sounds of crickets when it is our turn to walk on stage.

Which brings me back to these four children. They will each choose different things to do in life. Will one feel more important than the other? Will one be happy for the other, watching the other do something that the world will applaud? Will they be jealous or petty? Or will they be genuinely happy for the success of each other? Will they stay close and loving or will they all go their separate ways and not see much of each other? Isn't staying close as a family part of success?

And what defines success anyway? Why do we let the "world" define what success is when we have our Heavenly Father cheering us on, when He knows we are doing what the two of us probably discussed before we left Him?

And why do we forget? We are important, each of us. We are doing important things, even if we are doing stupid stuff. We learn by doing stupid stuff. Some of us-cough,beenthere,donethat,cough-have to do lots of stupid stuff to learn. Then we go on to lead ordinary lives but I think our Heavenly Father doesn't count us as ordinary. I think He stands on the sidelines, cheering and clapping. "Way to go, daughter. Way to go, son." When we stumble and fall I think he says something like, "It's okay. You are going to be all right."

So, tonight, if you are feeling unimportant--if you are feeling crummy about yourself or think you don't count then I am the voice on the Internet saying you are important. You are a child of God. That's better than being the child of a King or the child of the President of a country. There isn't anything more important that that. There isn't anyone more important than you. It doesn't matter what you have accomplished or not. You are valuable and your Heavenly Father cherishes you. He adores you. You are going to be all right.

This is what I believe. I hope you do too.

Now, because I am human I will be down on myself from time to time so when that happens will you spit this back at me? I promise to do the same for you. Except for the spitting part. That just isn't tidy.