She poured her heart into the phone. “I’m no longer needed. By anyone. What’s the point of living anymore?”

Not needed? How could she think that? And how could she think her perception of unnecessary meant her life was disposable?

She’d applied for jobs and wasn’t hired. She’d volunteered and “run out” of places to help.

In this world? She’d run out of places to help?

Misperception. She’d served many over the years, and continued to; had given much, and continued to give. But she couldn’t “see” that her efforts meant anything to anyone.

How had she spent her week? She’d hired a couple of young men to tear down an old outbuilding, not because she needed it torn down but because the men needed work.

She’d put a check in the mail to a ministry because she’d felt moved to do so.

Only heaven knows how many people she’d blessed with slips and snips from her gardens. A word of encouragement here. A word there.

It takes faith to believe that our obedience to God’s call to bless others, however unnoticed by those around us and unimportant in our own eyes, is noticed by God. We believe we matter not because we feel as if we do or have seen evidence, but by faith in the God who SAID we matter to Him.

For writers: Have you silently measured your worth by royalties or lack of them? By reader mail? By awards and recognition? What if they all ceased? Does the world need your words or your obedience to His words?

For readers: Life has two seasons–when we’re overneeded and when we’re underneeded. Both seasons require the exercise of faith. It’s not evidence that tells us we matter, that our efforts are noticed. This is a job for faith.