“A well-known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20 bill. In the room of 200, he asked. “Who would like this $20 bill?”

“Hands started going up. He said, “I am going to give this $20 to one of you – but first, let me do this.”

“He proceeded to crumple the 20 dollar note up. He then asked. “Who still wants it?”

“Still the hands were up in the air.

“”Well,” he replied, “what if I do this?” He dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty. “Now, who still wants it?”

“Still the hands went into the air.

“”My friends, you have all learned a very valuable lesson. No matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20. Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way. We feel as though we are worthless; but no matter what happened or what will happen, you will never lose your value.

“Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless to those who love you. The worth of our lives comes, not in what we do or who we know, but by …WHO WE ARE.

“You are special – don’t ever forget it.”

As we gather with friends and family over the next few weeks through the holidays, remember that even though we are sometimes crumpled, torn and dirty, we still hold our value.  Take time to thank those that have helped you over the past year and reflect on the positives that will happen in the future.