#Worthy of Rescue

Note Baikanon
Today marks the birth of #Worthy of Rescue! A video will be posted today; below is the transcript.

#Worthy of Rescue

      Recently I listened to a speech given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the first presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. During his talk, he spoke of rescuing and being rescued, reaffirming our intrinsic value as human beings and warmly assuring us of our worth. He coined a phrase that has remained in my mind: He declared that, “[God] sees us worthy of rescue.” In other words, “You are worthy of rescue.”
     What a beautiful statement! What a stunning assertation in the face of self-doubt and self-hatred. This has stuck in my mind and refuses to let go of my thoughts. I feel that it’s very similar to many other hashtags I’ve seen over the years, aimed at reinforcing self-worth and hope. Most of them are Twloha tags (stay tuned for more on Twloha in a later video), things like:
- I refuse to sink
- Stop the bleeding
- You are worthy
- Hope is real
- You are a story
- Help is real
- Recovery is possible
Alongside these declarations, "worthy of rescue" fits right in.
     No matter where you are in life, no matter how long you’ve been lost, you are still worthy of rescue. It doesn’t matter if your life is good, bad, or anywhere in between: you are worthy of something greater. We are all worthy of rescue: rescue from doubt, from fear, from pain, from loss of hope and loss of love.
     Our rescuer may be ourself; it may be a friend, a parent, a teacher. But regardless of who it is, we are worthy of their efforts. We are worthy of sacrifice, of strength, and of time. We are worthy of rescue. I am worthy of rescue. You are worthy of rescue.
     And if you don't believe me, listen to three reasons that you, and I, and us, and everybody is worthy of rescue.
     #1: Dresden is a city in Germany. It was nicknamed the Jewel Box for its splendor and beauty. During World War II, Allied bombing leveled the city. Beauty that had been built up for decades was spoiled in a night. Do you know somebody like that?: a lifetime of happiness spoiled by one horrific event? Are you that person? Even if you're not, I believe that on a smaller scale, we've all experienced this. Haven't we all had a good day, only to be ruined by a negative moment?
      In the rubble it can often seem like the end. But it's not over. Not by a long shot. Not for us, and not for Dresden. Somebody saw Dresden's potential for beauty. Somebody saw a vision of its potential to become more than the destruction that had overcome it. Somebody saw a bright future for the city of detritus. The city was rebuilt! It's beauty was restored, and above all, the city grew. The famous Frauenkirche Church in Dresden is a powerful symbol of the city. It was rebuilt in part using bricks that had survived the holocaust of destruction. Today, one can see blackened bricks pockmarking the building, evidence of a past struggle; scars that tell a story of restoration and triumph.
     Like Dresden, we are worthy of rescue because we have a potential within us. Potential beauty, a potential future, a potential to become something more than what we are right now. We are worthy of rescue because of our potential.
     #2: A shepherd will leave 99 sheep and search for the 1 that is lost. He will find it, and bring it home. He doesn't ignore it in favor of the 99 he already has; and he doesn't mark it as an acceptable loss. No, the shepherd stops at nothing to reclaim the lost one. The sheep is worthy of rescue because it is a part of a community. It is the 100th sheep; it is one of the 100 sheep. More than the lost one, it is its identity as one of the shepherd's sheep that defines it. The sheep is worthy of rescue because it is part of a set; it is the Shepherd's 100th sheep.
     We too are worthy of rescue because of our place within a community. More than a lost one, we are somebody's friend. Somebody's child. Somebody's student, somebody's crush, somebody's mentor. We are something to everybody; and it is our place in the lives of others that makes us worthy of rescue.
     #3: Mother Teresa spent her life battling poverty and destitution. Statistically, she accomplished nothing; but she knew that her work was with individuals. She said that, "What we do is nothing but a drop in the ocean. But if we didn't do it, the ocean would be one drop less." The poor were worthy of rescue not because they were easy to help, or simple to fix. They are worthy of rescue simply because they are. They are a drop in the ocean, and each drop is worthy of rescue.
You may tell yourself that you're  nothing special, but if you weren't you -- if you weren't here -- the ocean would be one drop less than it is. You are worthy of rescue because you are breathing; you are living; you are being.
     You are worthy. Worthy of love, of light, of hope! You are worthy of recovery, of progress, of bright futures and calm breaths. You are worthy of every good thing in store for you. You are worthy of your dreams. You, my friend, are worthy of rescue.