I was worried they wouldn't clap for him.

You know us moms. We worry about everything. We make up things to worry about and if we aren’t worried we worry that we aren’t worrying about something we should be worrying about. Y’all feel me right??? I’m not the only one???

There were a lot of names called before Jackson’s at the awards ceremony today. And lots of cheering from the sixth graders for each name called. “What if they don’t cheer that loudly for him?” I thought to myself. “What if he feels discouraged or left out?”

Of course, when they finally called his name, the sixth grade class cheered loudly—just like the did for all the names before and after him. Of course, I had worried about nothing.

Most of us spend a lot of time trying to fit in. Many of us spend a lot of time and energy trying to achieve things. Too many of us base our worth on how well we fit in and/or what we achieve.

I’m not saying working to achieve things is wrong. God clearly paints of picture in Scripture of the importance of working hard and using the talents and gifts you’ve been given.

But what I am saying is that our worth doesn’t come (or go) based on our accomplishments or lack of accomplishments. Our worth is determined at birth, and comes from us being made in the image of God. We are His children, made in His image and that is the source of our worth.

So as we head into the second half of the school year, keep this in mind. If your child has accomplished all their goals and won all the awards, praise God for giving them those skills and talents and let them know you are proud of them for using the gifts God has given them. But if they haven’t, if they have struggled just to make it through and haven’t won the awards or met all the goals, let them know that’s okay too. Because their worth is secure in God. And there’s nothing they can ever do to make them less valuable and beautiful in His eyes.