There are so many
wounded people in this world..perhaps we could say that each of us has wounded
places, places where we've felt rejection or loss, pain or loneliness,
unworthiness or shame. I know that in my own life, my shame and low self-worth
caused me to have trouble loving both myself and others. I would sometimes lash
out at others as a result of my pain and feelings of loneliness and
unlovable-ness. However, my prickly attitude and sometimes bitter or judgmental
ways didn't offend God or put Him off in the least. He simply kept on loving me, right
where I was, never demanding that I change or 'shape up,' never judging or
condemning me...in fact, I remember one time I felt I heard God crying with me
in my fear and pain! He just kept loving me, loving me, loving me,
washing over me with gentle waves of love and acceptance like endless waves upon
the seashore, soothing and sweet, till I started feeling loved, started feeling
healed! His love truly is a healing force, the strongest in the universe! And
being loved by Him in such a real and unconditional way, I was able to love and
value myself and others. People who know that they are accepted and valuable
are able to accept and see the value in others!
To me that means that
when someone is acting in an unloving, legalistic or judging way, it means that
they just don't know yet how loved and accepted and valuable they are! That
makes me see myself, my sometimes unloving or self-rightoeus actions, and also
others and their sometimes critical actions, in a
new way.. God looks beneath the surface actions and sees us all as little
children just crying out for love! And He knows that His love will heal our
woundedness and give us the acceptance and worth we crave, so that we won't be
judging ourselves or comparing ourselves with others and thus, judging them or
lashing out in pain and loneliness anymore. But even if we didn't stop doing
those things, He would still love and accept us and delight in us just the same!
THAT is also such a healing thing! We need to know that we are fine before Him
and cherished right now, as we are, in our self-condemnation, in our critical
and judgmental attitudes, in our lashing out and coping mechanisms! If we are
loved and embraced then, at our lowest, we really are loved unconditionally and
forever - that is just what we have been looking for all our lives, that is the
only thing that will feel the deep need of our heart, that is what makes us
finally and truly feel SAFE!
We are accepted, taken in, included, loved,
safe no matter what! This is the gospel!
This good news is the most
healing and life-transforming message in the world, for it fills our deepest
need to be loved and accepted and valued! Once we find out how loved we are, we
can relax, we are okay, we feel the pain start to subside, we are not alone, we
are accepted in our mess, we don't have to be perfect, we are embraced, we are
special, we are safe..and we can start to see others that way as well and let
them off the hook - they don't have to be perfect either, they are okay even in
their mess as well, noone has got it all together, we are all special anyway, we
are all equally valuable, we are all His dear children, we are all one in
Him...judging goes out the window when acceptance flows in! Everything else
melts away in the presence of the One who is Perfect, Unconditional LOVE! Thank
You, Papa! I love the way You heal our hearts with Your grace and
love!
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