>>>Psssst. I already posted this in the second half of “To Love and Beloved” but the post was jam-packed so I decided to re-post this section!<<

Why should we desire perfect love?

My closest people let me down all the time. In my family there is dysfunction, disappointment, despair, denial, and death. And I tried to deal with it all alone. Here’s what I tried:

-Wearing the most expensive clothes and make up and highlighting my hair. I dressed to the nines to impress people. The people that mattered saw right through me… It didn’t work. I was still judged, still let down, and it wasn’t worth the extra work.

-Smoking pot and doing other drugs to mask my feelings and fill the void. I swore I did it because it was fun! But it really just caused me to avoid real life; and ended up creating more problems and more voids in my life. Broken relationships, health problems, separation from family and real friends.

-Seeking love through boys who didn’t wish for the best for me, and only wanted to fulfill selfish desires — and guess what– it didn’t work, and left me feeling lonely and broken.

-Eating my feelings — I was overweight and unhappy. I had health problems. I swung towards anorexia, consistently yo-yoed with BED and settled with bulimia. None of it worked. In fact, things were getting worse off all the time. I was close to death.

-Running away by busying myself. I ran around a-fool and gave myself no time to think about my problems. Unfortunately, they still existed, and became harder to resolve the longer I avoided them.

… … …

At the time, I claimed God and the church didn’t work for me. I said I didn’t think there was a God. I figured everyone was full of it when they said they believed in God. I scoffed at them and pretended I was happy & full of life on the outside, when in reality I had no truth, spirit, or love on the inside.

I needed Jesus.

As I read the Bible and found out more about God, I found out that He is the perfect Father. He is the perfect friend. His love is incomparable. The more I know about God, the more I want to please Him and obey His word (the bible!). But He’s a man in the sky? What are we talking about here?

Who is God?

Imagine a person you love immensely. The person you love the most. Why do you love that person? Because he or she gives you things? Recognizes you for your efforts? Compliments you on your talents? Spends quality time with you? Hugs you and gives you affection? A combination?

We love people that love us because they make us feel important. But sometimes, they let us down or insult us, mock or ridicule us, hurt us or ignore us.

God never does.

This perfect love that exists, is soon seen, heard and multiplied the longer we spend with God. When we praise Him, love and serve others, and keep our lives in check, the blessings start pouring in. I assure you, the blessings just start POURING in.

God is the favourite memory you have of you and your dad hiking a mountain together and enjoying the view at the top. God is the woman who invited you to sit with her because she knew you didn’t know anyone. God is all the green lights that magically turned for you when you were running late. God is the perfect amount of flour left to make that chocolate cake you’ve been dying for. God is the perfectly timed phone call that came in right when you were available.

God loves me when I’m broken.

He loves me when I’m tattered.

He loves me when I’m selfish.

He loves me when I judge others.

He loves me when I’m not loving to others.

He loves me when I feel unloved by others.

Now you try:

He loves you when you’re broken.

He loves you when you’re tattered.

He loves you when you’re selfish.

He loves you when you judge others.

He loves you when you’re not loving to others.

He loves you when you feel unloved by others.

<3

The more I seek Him, the greater my life becomes. Seeds planted, plant sprouting, flower growing, pollen travels, more flowers, great smells, beauty enjoyed, joy brought. More seeds, more plants, flower fields, Spring harvest.

 

TAKEAWAY POINTS

*Just because someone says they’re a Christian doesn’t mean they’re perfect.*

*The point of being Christian isn’t being perfect. It’s being perfected by God more and more each day.*

Only way to do that:

• believe the Bible is the Truth (do some unbiased research! Compare notes! Seek advice!)
• Get to know God by reading His word (the bible)
• and constantly pray to God for guidance (to say the right things, make the right decisions, be a better person etc.
• realize that your life could be 10x better than what it is. Don’t settle for less. God will always exceed all of the expectations that you can imagine.
• Spend time reading God’s word (the bible).(“All scripture is God-breathed, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.” 2 Tim. 3:16).
• Try being like Him. If you’re unsure of who He is, read the bible and get to know Him. Do what he says to do in the bible. Find out what true love is. Experience it. It’s a free gift. His story of sending his son, Jesus Christ, is the most beautiful love story of all time.
• Don’t just want to, need to. Admit that you aren’t perfect and need help. Tell yourself that it’s okay that you need help. Now read the bible, seek out a Christian community and try applying Godly principles to your life. Then, watch the blessings pour in.
• Though we are weak, He is strong. And we aren’t supposed to do it all alone. His love will carry us on a higher hope than the feeble one our human hearts and minds can muster.

This is the good news. We are loved without condition. No matter how many times or how badly we screw up.

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Dear reader, I Love You!!!! 🙂 <3 🙂 <3 🙂 <3

And Jesus loves you also. Jesus says you are enough, in Him. And His perfect love for you is everything. <3 Doesn’t that make you want to love and BeLoved?

V