Women balancing life. Some days we think we can do this thing well, and we strive to stay on top of every detail. But the days we are running behind or nothing is going right, we can become discouraged...no matter what struggles we face, His love is greater. ~ Jocelyn Hamsher, Circle of Friends
Today is one of those days where I prayed for grace to cover my day in the morning, and by ten o'clock it was clear that someone else had a plan to bombard me with plenty of situations to test my resolve to stay open to grace and not give in to drama and anger. Don't they know it's a "sensitive time of the month?" Oh, yeah, they do.
Even in the midst of that, in the depth of irritation and imperfection, God's love is greater. He doesn't wait for us to be perfect, to wipe ourselves clean, to get up off the ground. No.
But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Romans 5:8
I don't have to do anything to be loved. We don't earn love or act to keep love. Love is a gift given out of generosity and freedom. Whether we aspire to glory or fall face down in the mud, we are loved beyond measure.While we strive to be worthy of that love, and we ought to strive to give honor to the Lover, we do not need to be "worthy" to be loved. It isn't a measuring game, a scoreboard. God doesn't love us more if we behave better. We honor Him more, but He does not love more.
It is especially when we feel battered, bruised, broken, and dirty that it is time to stop trying so hard and just rest in the arms of Christ. There is nothing that can separate us from the love of God. Pope Francis recently reminded us that "even when we break our bond with God because of our own sin and selfishness, 'even in this case God will always go in search for him to restore that union that lasts even after death...The certainty of God's love gives a new and full meaning to earthly life and opens us to hope for life beyond death.'" He reminds us of the words of St. Paul in Scripture:
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
It is time to allow ourselves to be loved in the middle of the battles we face so we can be filled with the love of Christ and get up to fight another day. On the bad days, especially, instead of fighting until we are empty, perhaps it is better to just stop, drop, and rest in the love of God...if the kids will let you.
PS - Shameless self-promotion alert: If you are looking for a reminder of how much you are loved, check out my "I Am Loved" necklaces over at the Etsy shop.
Beautiful reflection!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erica! :)
DeleteLove this, Rakhi. I've had it saved on my desktop to read. You have such a beautiful heart and it is obvious that Our Lord loves you so much by gracing you with this beautiful reflection. I love how He does that! Kind of like saying, "Here I am! and I love you! so I'm going to give you this little insight so you can know that I love you!" Such a good reminder though that can often get lost in our scrambled days.
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