The Tooth Fairy is a Tightwad!

Several weeks ago, Corey came racing out of his bedroom, eyes bugging out of his head and lower jaw extended.  It took only a second to realize his long awaited dream was now a reality – he had lost his first tooth!  I still smile when I remember the feel of his heart pounding beneath his little chest as we surrounded him with hugs and pats on the back.  He was so proud!

I was proud too, and reminded him to put it under his pillow so the tooth fairy could come (Don’t stone me, Dr. Dobson said it was good for the imagination – stone him).  Corey’s eyes lit up and he was soon snug in his bed, clenching the Ziploc bag that held his prized accomplishment.

The next morning, he walked out of his room, eyes filled with wonder as he held up his $1 dollar bill.  “The Tooth Fairy came!”

“Yup!  She sure did!”  My heart was full as I enjoyed the moment with my five-year-old.  Corey ran off to celebrate his loot with his siblings and I returned to my dishes.  It wasn’t long though, until he was back.  “Umm, mom?”

“Yes?”

He looked hesitant and I wondered thoughts were working through his mind.   “Uhhh, can I get a dollar that has a two and a zero on it?”

I couldn’t stop the laughter as I hugged him, “You are a smart one, Corey!  Why do you want twenty dollars?”

“I just want a bigger one!”

He didn’t get the twenty bucks, but after he left - content again with the measly one dollar bill, I got to thinking.  A dollar bill – no matter the face value, is what it is – a piece of paper.  The only difference is what is stamped on the outside.

We as individuals are so much like that!  We all come from the same source – we are simply human beings – yet we gauge our value – and the value of others, by what we see on the outside.

It’s been a good reminder for me as I teach my children to love and respect others.  More than that though, it’s been a lesson to me as a woman to remember the value of a person should not be placed simply on what I see outwardly.  Much more lies beneath!

I believe the greatest struggle of many people is finding their value.  Am I wanted?  Am I needed?  What is my worth?  All the cosmetic changes on the outside still won’t change all the good, the bad and the ugly hiding in our soul. 

Friends will let you down.  Spouses will say the wrong thing.  Children won’t always appreciate who you are and what you do. But our worth should not come from the amount of comments we get on Facebook, whether or not our spouses notice the clean house or the fact that the kids keep asking for more rather than acknowledging all the good we’ve given them already!

To expect others to always see value in us is setting too high of an expectation – after all, how often do we fail to see the worth in others?   Our true value must also come from the same Source – Jesus Christ!  I find that in Him, I receive all the value I need.  He is the only dependable source for finding my worth.