You Matter

It’s just a small tag, the size of a business card with laminate that reaches out a fraction of an inch. But it’s a special tag as well.

At the beginning of every school year, the tiny church I belong in this swath of the Midwest gives out the tags to students and anyone else who wants one. On one side, there is this message:

This backpack has been blessed by my church family who loves and supports me!

The reverse side changes from year to year, but has a strong message. Last year’s message was “You got this,” which while grammatically incorrect, is still a valid message and one I blogged about last year, pulling in examples from some of my stories.

**tangent here – I need to start doing that again – pulling examples from my stories into my blogs once more.**

Anyway….

This year’s message is “You matter.”

You.

Matter.

Our culture often tries to define us by what we have, what we have done, and who we may know. We’re constantly being told we don’t measure up. We aren’t good enough. No one cares.

Even though we remember the old childhood saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words could never hurt me,” the words hurt, sometimes long after the scars of scuffles and broken bones have faded. They shape us, reminding us that to some, we don’t matter.

“No one cares” is an insensitivity I have heard in my head over and over again. It was uttered long ago and often enough by someone close to me. I was reminded over and over again that I didn’t matter because my writing didn’t matter. And as a result, I hid away my writing. It wasn’t good enough. I was not good enough. I didn’t matter.

But this month, I was reminded that I matter as a writer.

This very blog, which was getting anywhere from 295 views per month (in February) to 663 views per month (in July) for the year has over 2000 views this month. Granted, a good deal of that has to do with the blog post that went viral about my dear friend Margo, but even still, over 800 views were done on other posts and pages on this website as well. My author Facebook account has been hopping, with a reach that jumped from about 2000 accounts to now over 8000 seeing some of my posts and my follower numbers climbing, though I am doing not. And my royalties for this month have doubled.

My words matter.

People do care.

Dear friends, we all have moments where we feel like we don’t matter.

Someone tells us we’re worthless.

Another says she doesn’t care.

You’re told you have no achievements of your own.

In a world full of pain, in a world full of struggle, in a world where gatekeepers are rampant and remind you that you don’t belong because you are less than, not good enough, don’t do enough…..

Know you do matter.

You are important to someone. You are the reason someone smiles each and every day. You are a part of so many stories. You make the magic for someone.

You matter to me. Each time someone reads one of my blogs and says something, I celebrate it. I do happy dances and have gif dance battles with random strangers on the internet. I cherish the comments left for me about how I touched someone’s heart with inspiration because they come from the heart. They matter to me. You matter to me.

So find that hope to hold on to. Embrace joy as it overflows. Exude peace for someone else. Love like it matters. Be the magic in this world.

I know I will try.

I matter.

And you matter more!

Stay magical.

Keep writing.

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If you wanted to see some of the fantasy works I have written, check out my Portals Series or The Magician (Click the titles to call up the links).

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