I have been blessed with some amazing friends. My friends are some of the most caring, compassionate and loving people around. They also happen to be some of the most gifted and talented people I know. Let’s face it, they are some of the most awesome people on the planet.

Unfortunately, some of them don’t know it.

For some time now, I have been somewhat troubled by this fact. It is difficult for me to understand how some of the most exceptional people I know fail to recognize their own worth. They ignore or downplay the talents and gifts that they have and underestimate their own value.

I discussed this with my daughter one evening. I told her how frustrated I was that some of my friends didn’t seem to recognize their worth. I told her that these friends were so awesome but that they just couldn’t seem to see it. She looked straight at me and without a moment’s hesitation said “You mean like you?”

Her words pierced my soul and stopped me right in my tracks. I wondered, could I really be guilty of the same thing? As I pondered her question, I came to the conclusion that she was right. I decided that to varying degrees we are all guilty of underestimating our own value or worth.

We judge ourselves too harshly. We compare ourselves to others. We continually criticize ourselves. We exaggerate our faults and mistakes and minimize our talents and accomplishments. We are much kinder to others than we are to ourselves. It is not surprising that we sometimes feel worthless or inferior.

But we shouldn’t.

We are all children of a loving and kind Heavenly Father. He has created us and we are of great worth. He has given each of us different talents, gifts and abilities, not so that we might compare ourselves to each other but so that we might use them to help one another.

I am grateful for all of the wonderful friends that I have. I am grateful that they so willingly share their abundant gifts and talents with me. I am grateful for my knowledge of my Heavenly Father and I am grateful that I know I am His child and as such, I have great worth.

I will try to remind my friends and myself of that more often….