$20 Bill

20 Dollar Bill

A well known speaker started off his seminar by holding up a $20.00 bill. In the room of 200, he asked, "Who would like this $20 bill?"
Hands started going up. He said, "I am going to give this $20 to one of you, but first, let me do this."
He proceeded to crumple the $20 dollar bill up. He then asked, "who still wants it?"
Still the hands were up in the air.
Well, he replied, "what if I do this?"
And he dropped it on the ground and started to grind it into the floor with his shoe. He picked it up, now crumpled and dirty.
"Now who still wants it?"
Still the hands went into the air.
"My friends, we have all learned a very valuable lesson," he said, "no matter what I did to the money, you still wanted it because it did not decrease in value. It was still worth $20."
Many times in our lives, we are dropped, crumpled, and ground into the dirt by the decisions we make and the circumstances that come our way.
We feel as though we are worthless. But no matter what has happened, or what will happen, you will never lose your value.
Dirty or clean, crumpled or finely creased, you are still priceless ... and especially to those who love you.
The worth of our lives comes not in what we do or who we know, but by WHO WE ARE.
"You are special - Don't EVER forget it."
Count your blessings, not your problems.
Never be afraid to try something new.

I love this story because it's so true. I think that sometimes life can make us feel "worn down", but we need to never forget who we truly are.

Brother Greg Olsen, the artist who painted this picture, explained that the children represent each of us. "The stream represents the difficult, trying times that we all go through," he says. "We need to do our part, reach as high as we can, and the Savior will lead us safely across to the other side."