Dearest Reader:

There are so many words I want to share with you… so much I want to say. Whenever a new adventure is started, sometimes it’s unclear where the first steps should be taken.  So perhaps, my friends, we can grow and walk together.

Let me preface our journey with this: I pray that in these blogs you hear my heart. I pray the words touch a piece of your soul that hasn’t been reached in quite some time. I pray that you are moved to conversation and to ask questions or just simply to share a piece of yourself.

I’ve found that God uses vulnerability and transparency to bring growth and understanding that simply can not be discovered in any other way. So without further ado, allow me to tell you the beginning of my story.

For the majority of my life, I have lived without the heart knowledge of how much God loves me. I may have known this truth in my mind but it never truly settled into my heart. I’ve witnessed many experience the same struggle. And by no means can I come before you today and claim to understand the wonders and depths of His love, but I can say that He is walking me through the process of seeing myself and more importantly, seeing others through the lens of love. True love.

What is love though? It’s a word the world has stolen. It’s a concept all of humanity chases. It’s a feeling but also a choice. It’s a mystery yet somehow familiar as if ingrained in the very fibers of our being. And I believe it is.

You see, we were made in love, from love and for love.

From a young age, we need love to feel safe. As we grow, we need it to understand purpose. Each and every one of us yearns for it all our days. But why? Why do we all seek after it?

Did you know that the world defines love as “an intense feeling of deep affection?” But it goes no further. The world’s field of vision only sees a small piece of its encompassing potential and power.

I come from a Biblical world view. I believe that “love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. -1 Corinthians 13:4-5“

So, as I mentioned, having lived the majority of my life without the heart knowledge of God’s love for me, the description the Bible gives of love just seemed so foreign. The verse there in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 seemed like a fairy tale… too good to be true. Love that does not envy? Is not easily angered? Keeps no records of wrong? Isn’t that something only Disney Princes offer? 

No.

It’s something much more than that. 

It’s something we are supposed to want. And to work for. And to give others. 

Is it hard? YES!

Does it feel impossible? 

Sometimes.

But my friends, as we begin this journey, you need to know that you are loved.

And not loved in the way the world tells you. 

YOU are loved when you aren’t kind, when you boast and when you are proud. You are loved when you are self-seeking and holding onto grudges. You are loved when you choose the wrong path. You are loved when you purposefully make the wrong decisions. When you feel alone and lost, you are loved. 

This is the reality that the world has kept from you. It has taught you from the first day you opened your eyes that when you do wrong, you are not loved. That when you feel down, that you are alone. The world has done everything it can to keep you from knowing the truth. But my friends, you don’t have to live in that reality anymore. Come with me on this journey and let’s walk together in the healing and in the hope that only love can offer. 

I love you. 

No matter where you are or what you’re going through. 

And so does God. More than you’ll ever know. 

You see, when I was a young woman, I fell into the trap that many vulnerable and misled young hearts do: I looked to another person to try and understand my value. I wanted to be loved. So I found a man who claimed he did with his words and I settled. I didn’t truly know and walk in the truth that I was already loved and cherished and cared for. I didn’t realize I already had someone who knew me, wanted me and sacrificed everything for me. Instead I chose what the world told me I should want… money, fancy things, attention and a man by my side. I didn’t see that I was a daughter of a King! I didn’t understand that I was worth more than rubies. I couldn’t discern just how much God wanted me to talk to Him and walk with Him and love Him back. 

So perhaps, the first step in this journey will be to ask God to help us see? Perhaps we ask and pray that He allows us to begin to open our eyes, open our heart and destroy the lies of the enemy and of this world. It will take time and patience. For some of us, this journey will involve addressing uncomfortable things. For some, it will heal the scars that keep being torn open before they can permanently close. For others, it will give you the hope you’ve always longed for. Hope that this life has more to offer than just the day-to-day, the pain and the struggle. But none the less, let us set our sights on seeing ourselves and others through the eyes of love. 

To bring my first post to a close, I would like to leave you with these questions:

What does love mean to you? What world view do you look at love with? Who helped you define what you believe love is? And how do you live out an example of what you believe love means? 

With humility and admiration, I’d love to hear from you.