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A True Story:

In 1969 Rob Cutshaw found a rock near the Georgia-Tennessee border. Rob guessed the blue chunk of rock could bring as much as $500, but he would have taken less if something urgent came up like paying his power bill.

For years Cutshaw kept the stone under his bed, then in a box, and eventually on a display shelf in his white-frame rock shop next door to his house on U.S. 19.

“I had it on display and it was for sale,” Cutshaw said. “I didn`t have a tag on it, but if somebody would have offered me a good price, I would have sold it. Probably for a hundred dollars.”

That’s how close he came to selling for a few hundred dollars what turned out to be the largest, most valuable sapphire ever found.

The blue rock that Rob Cutshaw had abandoned to the darkness of a closet two decades ago — now known as “The Star of David” sapphire — weighs nearly a pound, and could easily sell for $2.75 million. (articles.sun-sentinel.com)

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I relay this story today because it made me wonder…

How many of us have a treasure hidden in the darkness of our lives, unaware of its immense value?

What valuable treasure are YOU keeping hidden?

What are you keeping safe in the dark recesses of YOUR soul?

What do you not see as prized within YOURSELF that remains locked away?

What part of YOU are you saving to bring out in the open ONE DAY?

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I have kept many things locked away over the years.

I have kept secrets about myself so that people wouldn’t judge me.

I held the darker parts of me back from close friends, who had been in my life for 10+ years.

Eventually I got tired of hiding and I decided to see what my real value was.

I started revealing what had been hidden for so long. I chose to be vulnerable and open — not knowing if I would be judged.

I had things inside me, buried deep in the shadows of my soul, that mightbe worth something if I was open to sharing them.

“Our shadows hold the essence of who we are. They hold our most treasured gifts. By facing these aspects of ourselves, we become free to experience our glorious totality: the good and the bad, the dark and the light.” — Debbie Ford

Maybe I could help people who were struggling with the same things?

Maybe I could connect to my friends on a deeper level?

Maybe I could reveal the depths of who I was and release shame around some of my thoughts, feelings and past experiences?

So I chose to let them see the beautiful sapphire hidden inside me.

“Being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure.” — Bob Marley

I went into the darkness and brought out something I felt might be slightly valuable…

AND it turned out to be more treasured that I ever could’ve imagined!

People loved me more.

They saw my vulnerability and therefore my true worth.

They shared parts of THEM that they’d been hiding under the bed.

We connected.

I saw that what I had kept hidden for so long was actually worth so much — to me and to others.

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When we are willing to take our “stuff” out of the closet and be real, we connect with people on a deeper level.

When we know our worth and aren’t holding shame around ourselves, we have the opportunity to bring the darker parts of us into the light and witness their value.

We see that our most valuable inner treasures don’t have to hold us back.

Most importantly — we get to choose what we believe about our inherent worth.

We think parts of us that we hide are only worth a pittance — we don’t realize that they are priceless.

We can share ourselves with people and give them the gift and opportunity to really see us and our true value.

And when our deepest insecurities are exposed, they lose their power over us and can be defeated.

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this…and I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

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It’s time to be real with the people closest to you.

Let them see everything about you that is worth so much more than you think.

Stop hiding the things you believe have little value and share them with others.

Each and every part of us is precious, treasured and valuable.

We have these things in us so we can help others and connect with them at a deeper level.

And when we bring darkness into the light it becomes visible — and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. (Eph. 5:13)

When you stop hiding and start shining, nothing can hold you back!