YOU ARE WORTH MORE THAN YOU REALIZE

But Mama, would you be willing to give away that picture from Granny? Eeeesh! Out of all of the things in the house, my daughter knew that the picture had sentimental value. My grandmother lived four hours away from me at the time and I would visit often. About half way, there was an exit that had a Christian Book Store. I was a young wife and mother and our money definitely was not budgeted for extravagance. The picture that I passed by so many times was far out of our financial reach and I admired it when visiting the store.

One day, my grandmother was with me and I showed her the picture. I had saved enough for the smaller version and was so proud that I was about to make the purchase. “Why are you buying the smaller one?” she asked. “I would take me forever to save for the bigger one and if we had that much money, it wouldn’t be for house décor.” She traced the border of the bigger picture with her dainty hand that I did not inherit and said something that I have never forgotten.

“You are worth so much more than you realize!”

I didn’t understand what she meant then and of course hind sight is worth the beautiful picture a million times over, but she said it with grace and love. She walked away as I held the smaller picture in my hand wondering what I should do. The dainty hands should not be mistaken for weakness. I knew that I couldn’t get the picture that day so I laid it back down against the wall and searched the store for my Granny. There she was with perfect posture and confidence speaking with the manager.

“Do you have a lay away program?” she asked.

“No ma’am, we don’t.” He was firm, but kind.

“You do now! My granddaughter will give you $10-20 each time she passes through. It might take her awhile, but eventually she will pay for it. I will put the first $20 down and she has saved $50 so far.”

I wasn’t sure if I should feel embarrassed or proud, at that moment I just obeyed. It took two years for me to pay it off and the store was gracious enough to hold it for me. My grandmother could have swiped her card or written a check for the whole amount the first day that she saw it but knew a better outcome with the lesson behind the process.

So, am I willing to give away that picture? If God told me to, it would be a struggle. Fortunately, we live in a historical house and the old-fashioned gold frame that I thought was fascinating works in our house. None of our children will want it and it will most likely end up in a garage sale or thrift store. The picture doesn’t hold the worth that I scrambled and saved for, the memory does. 25 years of life has passed with that picture and there were many days that I looked at it and remembered my grandmother reminding me of my worth. Just like everyone, I have had to stand tall in the midst of chaos, smile in the depth of despair and trust that the Lord’s Amazing Grace would carry me to the next breath. After all, aren’t we all worth more than we realize?