A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a crisp new $20 bill. There were 200 people in the room. The speaker asked them, “How many of you would like to have this $20 bill?” Hands went up all over the room.
Then the speaker said, “I’m going to give this $20 bill to one of you, but first let me do this.” He proceeded to crumple the $20 bill up… and then he held it up and said, “Who wants it now?” Hand went up everywhere.
“Well,” he replied, “What if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and stepped on it and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up and held it up for all to see. It was crumpled and smudged and dirty, and he said, “Who wants it now?” Still hands went up all over the place.
Then the speaker said, “My friends, you have just learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. No matter how smudged and rumpled it became, it was still worth $20.”
Many times, in our lives, we get knocked around… dropped, crumpled, smudged, and ground into the dirt… by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. And sometimes we feel as though we are worthless, and used up, and of no account. But no matter what has happened… or what will happen, you will never lose your value in God’s eyes.
Do you feel spiritually sick this morning? Do you have a fevered soul right now? The doctor is in the house! Jesus Christ is the Great Physician… and just as His love healed Simon’s mother-in-law, even so, His love can heal you, help you, cure you, redeem you, save you. In gratitude, you will want to serve, to help others. You will want to pass that love on to everybody you meet.
Submitted by Fr. Joseph Dovari