First Baptist Church of Herndon

Who do you value?

Linda Soller | Jul 15, 2013

We all like to feel valued; at least I think we do. Some people seek affirmation more than others, but I’ve never known anyone who didn’t like to feel appreciated. What triggered this line of thought was a simple phone call. Here is the background story. Our knitting/crocheting/fiber group YYS (Yarn Yarn Sisterhood) had a decision to make. We had always met on the same nights of the month and we recently learned that two members would have a conflict as of July. The two members informed us, not to ask that we change our meetings, but just so we would know they weren’t leaving the group even though they would miss one of the two monthly meetings. One member has been with us since the beginning and the other is fairly new to the group, but both attend regularly. The rest of us immediately started talking about how we could adjust our meeting times so these two ladies would not have to miss out. Actually we didn’t want to miss out on having them. We came up with a solution and a “plan B.” Turns out we had to go to “plan B.” I know you’re wondering how a phone call fits in to this story – I am getting to that. I needed to call one of our members to let her know our final plan because I know she doesn’t always check her email. I made the call and as I spoke to her I thought “I hope she knows how much we value her as a member of YYS.” Then I thought to myself, “this whole exercise has been a demonstration of how we all value the members of our group.” It would have been easy to do nothing. The length of participation and the skill level of the people impacted had nothing to do with our decision. We were ready to make changes in our lives to allow for changes in theirs, just because we value them as friends and members of the group.

Sometimes change in one area can lead to change in another. After announcing the new meeting night to our church members (we do meet in FBC) and telling a few people informally, I learned that there might be a couple of people who could now join our group due to our new night. Next I got an email from a long time member who attends sporadically telling me the new night was much better for her. It seems our spontaneous reaction to our friends’ situation had triggered a positive wave of change for multiple people.

Jesus consistently expressed how he valued people – often the people society preferred to ignore. His attention and kindness in a world that was cruel only served to strengthen the faith of his followers. Jesus’ attention demonstrated to the crowds that he valued all people. They might be sick or weak, they might have jobs people found distasteful like the tax collectors, but Jesus saw their value and was not afraid to let the world know. We have friends and family around us who might like to know how much we value them. Showing them how you feel can be as simple as a phone call just to chat, or as big as changing your life to support theirs. Personally I don’t think the magnitude of the action is as important as your willingness to act. Sacrifices come in all sizes, but making a sacrifice for someone else shows you care.

The YYS will be meeting on the 2^nd and 4^th Monday night of each month from 7-9 at FBC in room 200. Some members knit, some crochet, some quilt, and some just sit and visit. We don’t pay dues or have officers or fuss when someone comes late or leaves early. When you come, if you come, you will meet an eclectic group of women who share a love of working with fiber of all kinds and who value each other just as they are. Who do you value?

The Drop In Class wants to send a big "Get Well" to Scott and a big "We miss you" to Raydean and Micky.

Have a great week :o) Linda