As Remarkable As Ancient Treasure

At first glance, you can't always tell an object's true value.

What appears unremarkable on the surface could be hiding something amazing underneath.

A married couple from New York found that out when they were spring cleaning one year.

Among their dishes was a certain bowl they'd purchased years before at a yard sale for $3.

It was nothing special, just a plain, ordinary cereal bowl.

They nearly threw it out, but ultimately decided to have it appraised.

They hoped to discover the bowl had doubled in value.

Instead, they learned that their plain white, ordinary bowl was a rare,

thousand-year-old Chinese artifact from the Northern Song Dynasty.

Sotheby's described it as remarkable and exceptionally beautiful.

They sold it at auction for $2.2 million.

Like that ancient treasure, many of us may appear ordinary at first glance.

We're just average people striving to live good lives.

But look underneath the surface, and you'll discover something else.

A remarkable human being with a story to be told.

Each of us is a combination of our experiences, our relationships,

our accomplishments, and our losses.

Each moment shapes who we are and how we think.

That is the sacredness of each unique human life.

Young, old, or yet to be born, disabled, different, or dazzling.

Every person is a priceless masterpiece of design.

For more to help you thrive, visit FocusOnTheFamily.com.

I'm Jim Daley.