Beloved

In the last week I have felt an incredible amount of stress. I cried...in front of people...and that is a big deal for me. I wasn't granting myself any grace in any area of my life. I was demanding perfection from myself and those around me. This is not the world of perfection. God has been so gracious to me in the last week in revealing Himself to me and covering me with His peace. A friend shared this story with me and I have been mulling over it the last few days. She was talking to her younger sister who was being overly hard on herself and saying that she was stupid. My friend reminded her sister of her baptism and that she is united with Christ. That means that she can't say that she is stupid because she is loved. How great is that?
A few months ago I talked to high schoolers about when Paul says that he has a thorn in his side and that is a "messenger from Satan." What that means is that that thorn comes with a message of "I'm not good enough" or "I'm not worthy", but that is not true because the truth is "I am loved." So whatever I face, the truth is that I am loved deeply and completely and I am united with Christ.

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is thy faithfulness --Lamentations 3:21-23