On June 12, 1987, President Ronald Reagan gave a speech in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin. His famous words, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall” went viral before viral was a thing. A little over two years later the wall came tumbling down. You can see a large piece of the wall at the Reagan Presidential Library in California.

Two years ago I read multiple studies showing that over 80% of adults in the United States don’t like themselves. The number shocked me, but when I considered the amount of hatred I observed on the internet it made sense. When someone doesn’t like themself, they will tear others apart so they won’t accept themselves, either.

It’s no surprise that people build walls, too. They create facades that show the world the person they want to look like, but that might not be who they are. Some people believe that if others saw the real person, they might not like who they see.

The undeniable truth is, each of us was created uniquely and on purpose by God. He had a plan in mind for us all. Another undeniable truth is that God doesn’t make junk, nor does he second guess himself. Unlike human beings, he knows what he’s doing all the time. It’s my hope that if you struggle with self-worth because life has knocked you around, you will find yourself in these truths. See yourself for who you are, not the version the world might want you to be.

When you approach life in an open, unguarded way, others will drop their guard, too. That’s where connection happens…