Feeling Worthless? Are You Appreciated?

Well, simply put, all of your efforts are appreciated....even if nobody is giving you recognition. Lately I have been feeling that I don't get enough recognition for the things I do, whether it be at work, home, or on a golf course. Let's take work for example; I work hard, I do my job, I am always on time, and I have a good attitude. But am I appreciated? Sometimes it doesn't feel like it. Sometimes it feels like people only see the negative things that I do. Mistakes may be small, but they sometimes make me feel like I have failed everyone around me and that people will only see the negative result.

Sound familiar? That little voice in your head probably just told you that you feel the same.

Inspiration hit me about 2 weeks ago. I was sitting in my car on my lunch break, listening to some Metal (duh!), and Tim Lambesis screamed something very inspiring and positive; "We are not forgotten, for a kingdom is offered beyond that of golden streets. We can represent now what will one day be complete."

Just like August Burns Red tried to teach me to look beyond this silly world, As I Lay Dying is telling me to think about where I want to be, not where I am. The only way to live with my Heavenly Father again is to live now as if I were in his presence.

I don't know if you watch The Office, but there is an episode where Kelly and Jim are catching up after not seeing each other for quite a while, and Jim asks Kelly "what's new?" Kelly then proceeds to tell Jim that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes has a baby, and how awesome that is. Then she tells him that Brill Pimm (Brad Pitt) and Angelina Jolie had a baby, and how awesome that is. Then Jim Asks, "Yeah, but what's new with YOU?" Kelly says,"I just told you.".........I realized at this point that I have known people like Kelly; caught up in the lives of others. There are some who could tell you more about celebrities, whose lives are always in the spotlight, than they could say about their friends.

"Simplicity is not a curse, where strength is humbled and the powerless rise. This is a kingdom born upside down. This is a kingdom where the broken are crowned."
(This makes me realize that I have to be ok with who I am.)

I highly recommend the album The Powerless Rise by As I Lay Dying. The song quoted above is called Upside Down Kingdom. Keep an open mind, and read the lyrics while you listen to it, otherwise your non-trained metal ears won't understand the singing.