A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to meet with a dear friend of mine. Getting together with a friend might not seem that unusual. What made this meeting unique was that it was the first time I had actually seen this friend.

It might seem odd that I have a dear friend that I had never seen before. I actually have several cherished friends that I have never met before. The internet and social media have made friendships like this possible and I for one am grateful for it and for them.

This made me think about how much we judge people by their appearance. We form opinions about people based on their height, weight, age and complexion. We judge them by the way they speak, the clothes they wear and the cars they drive. Because I had never seen my friend before, my opinion of her was based solely on her words and not on her appearance.

This experience got me thinking about the way that our Heavenly Father sees each of us. He loves us and does not care what we look like, where we buy our clothes or what we do for a living. He cares not about our outward appearance. He cares about our inner value.

He wants us to love each other and to see each other the way that He sees us. I have been making a greater effort to see each person that I meet as He would. I have been trying to look past outward appearances and look for the inner value that can be found in all of His children.

We are all children of a kind and loving Heavenly Father. We all have great value and worth in His eyes that He will help us to see, if we ask.