Hi, my name is Ann Marie and I like to watch America’s Got Talent.  There.  I said it. Confessed my ‘guilty pleasure’, about which I feel absolutely no guilt.  I think I like this particular reality show because it is soooooo…random.  You never know who is going to show up, or what kind of ‘talent’ they will bring to the stage, that they seriously believe will get them the votes they need to win a million dollars and their own show in Las Vegas. 

One of my favorite performers on this season’s show, is a solo dancer named Turf…I do not know what his momma was thinking naming him that, but I choose to believe that she had nothing to do with it.  Interesting name aside, this young man is a dancer and contortionist combined, and makes his body do things that would put me in traction for a year, while having my family and friends wonder if I am crazy, and asking why I did not listen when Nick Cannon clearly said, 

“Do NOT try this at home!” 

In an early episode Turf was on-stage, tears flooding his eyes, when one of the judges asked him why he was so emotional, and his response was, 

“Look at me. I come from dirt…from nothing…” 

Yes sireee Bob. You guessed it. It was not long before I was bawling too.  Not because of what he said, but because of what I could see in his eyes, and hear in his voice, while he stood there in tears.  It was defiance; an obstinate refusal to accept what circumstances and perhaps, too many people, must have been telling him all his life up to that moment when he stood on stage. 

“You come from nothing. You are nothing.” 

Life has not been easy on Turf; in fact, he was homeless for almost two years, but every time he performed you could almost hear his heart shouting, 

“I am NOT nothing!” 

And obviously, his heart doesn’t give a rip about English grammar, so it can use a double negative! 

I believe we are all born with that same thing in our heart; a strong, innate sense of individual value and purpose, because God Himself took the time and effort to put it there. 

“For it was you who formed my inward parts; you knit me together in my mother’s womb…My frame was not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth. Your eyes beheld my unformed substance. In your book were written all the days that were formed for me, when none of them as yet existed.”  Psalm 139:13-16 

So God put this innate sense of individual value and God-ordained purpose in your heart, and then life on planet earth proceeds to beat it out of you, or poison it with lies till it becomes distorted, deformed and twisted into some kind of narcissistic monster demanding that the entire world revolve around me!  And this does not just happen to dirt poor people or rich, spoiled brats.  It happens to everybody, everywhere, resulting in a wide range of brokenness and sociopathic behavior. 

You could knock me over with a feather sometimes when I hear people who seem to have been born with it all, or look like they have it all, talk about their struggle to feel worthwhile, and find some purpose for their life.  Not to mention the billions of dollars and thousands of hours spent with professionals, desperately trying to regain an accurate sense of who we truly are.  

Is it just me, or does everyone you know, myself included, seem to need some kind of therapy to fix something that has gone terribly wrong in our sense of self?  Even the therapists and counselors are going in for therapy and counseling. In fact, I am beginning to believe that if we don’t start speaking God’s truth into our lives and circumstances, we could end up with only two kinds of people in the world; people who are in therapy, and people who should be in therapy.  

It almost seems as if we are on the losing end of a conspiracy to remove from every one of us all knowledge and recognition that the God of the universe treasures us so much that He chooses to be personally involved in our creation, no matter the nature or circumstances of our birth, and even more, He thought out a perfect plan for each life, that has an awesome, eternal ending!  But it gets better!  Hear this from Jesus Himself, 

“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God’s sight.  But even the hairs on your head are all counted.  Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows” Luke12:6-7 

Who does that?!  No, I don’t mean who sells sparrows for two pennies?  I mean, who in the world loves you, or cares enough about you, to assign a number to every hair on your head?…and quite regularly apparently, because hair comes and goes.  OUR GOD DOES! 

But wait, it gets better! 

“For we are His workmanship, (Greek word is ‘ poiema’ meaning a design produced by an artisan; a masterpiece), created in Christ Jesus for good word works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life.” Ephesians 2:10 

So, here’s the thing, every one of us is a unique creation, forged by the hand of God Himself, who also gave us the talents we will need to find our unique place in the world, and fulfill our unique purpose.  We have eternal value and purpose because God gave us eternal value and purpose.  Anything or anyone  in your life past, present or future that tells you different, is lying to you; so take that truth, bank it in your heart and… just live the thing.