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!
