A Great Week

I've just had a delightful week - one of those weeks that make you glad to be alive. We've all had them, and we are grateful because we've also had the opposite - the kind that makes you wonder what else can go wrong.

Actually, my week didn't really get good until Wednesday. That's when one of my sons and I met with a retired mechanical engineer who advised us on obtaining a patent for something we've been working on for two plus years. I'm going to set up an appointment with a patent attorney in June, but the encouragement from someone who is knowledgeable about such matters is cause for elation.

There were other things that "just went right" during my week, but I want to concentrate on the experience just related. What is often said depends upon the value we have for the person who said it.

Like most, if not all, of us, I've had both compliments and not-so-nice things said to me, and the impact of those statements on my person varied greatly. I could be elated, crushed or simply not care depending upon their origin. Likewise, we can have the same positive or negative effect on others depending upon our value to them.

I think when we aren't having a great day or week, that's when it's important to remember how God values us, and that's what ultimately matters. It's not always easy to do. As humans, we can be hurt and hurt others, but it's also up to us to show that we are valued and that we value others.

Jesus wasn't concerned with what Herod or Pontius Pilate thought of him, but he managed to find value in everyone as a child of God. He was actually more concerned with what people thought of our father in Heaven, and wanted to impart first and foremost that our relationship with Him should involve both giving and receiving love. I'm going to try to remember that in the future, regardless of whether things go right or go wrong.

So for this brief moment in time, I'm going to be grateful that God values me and has also allowed me the experience of a great week. I'm also going to try very hard to remember that, even though I might not value what is said, I can nevertheless value the source.