The Inscription

You Matter

a note from Jen

The idea of telling people they matter started for me as a young adult. I was newly single and expecting my first child. I had just moved away from the situation I'd been in, and I was rethinking everything: my decisions, my friends, the influences around me, and what I wanted for my life.

I took a part time job as a receptionist for two insurance executives at their consulting firm. Shortly after I started, one of them said two words to me directly: "You matter."

He knew I felt a little ashamed of where I was in life. I was embarrassed that I didn't have a college education, and I was afraid of how I would support my child. But he told me, "You're answering the phones for our company. You're the first voice people hear. We want you in this position. You matter to our business, and you matter to God."

That role eventually became full time. I learned administrative skills, computer skills I didn't have yet, and how to stay organized. But more than any skill, I learned to believe the truth that I mattered. And if I matter, then so does everyone else.

That was the beginning of a completely new direction, one that shaped practically every path in my life since. I am so thankful those words were spoken to me. They stayed with me, and now I get the opportunity to build others up the same way someone once built me up.

Because you matter, too.

Jen