{my graphics are free goodies for you}
February comes with its declarations of love and decorations of hearts and flowers. We stroll the aisles of the grocery store in our yoga pants and can feel as deflated as the last helium balloon left on the rack. We ask, sometimes without even realizing it, am I truly loved? This is the question we’re going to answer here this month. And, thankfully, the answer is YES. That truth comes to us straight from the heart of God.
I recall realizing this in a new way on a morning years ago when a South Carolina sky spread above me. It was freckled with stars in the still-dark of early morning. I looked from east to west and tried to find the end of the universe. But it just went on and on. I thought of these words: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” {Ps. 103:11–12}.
In those quiet moments on a front porch before dawn, I felt small and God seemed infinitely big. I’d shared a weekend with fellow writers in a beach house, and now I was heading to the airport. We’d talked about our dreams, struggles, hopes and fears. All of those were given new perspective as I stared at the sky.
I watched two shooting stars streak across the dark. I thought about how our lives are so much like that. We’re here for a moment, we get a chance to shine, and we’re gone. That thought didn’t fill me with sadness. Instead it filled me with comfort. I sighed with relief and let the pressure roll off of my shoulders. I’m not God, and it’s not my role to keep the universe running. Instead I’m a living paradox—small and yet called to big purposes, broken and yet showing God’s glory, weak and yet growing stronger every day.
When we remember who God is, we regain perspective. As much as it feels like it on some days, the world is not on our shoulders; it’s in God’s hands. And we are too. He loves us in ways far beyond what we can even comprehend, as high as the stars, as endless as the sky. All we have to do is receive that love and respond to it. It’s the simplest, hardest thing to do because everything within us wants to prove our worth and earn affection. But we can stop and fix our eyes instead on the only One who is worthy of our worship. When we look to Him, we see who we truly are too: imperfect people who are infinitely, perfectly loved.
XOXO
Holley
P.S. If you like this post, you’ll love this book – You’re Loved No Matter What: Freeing Your Heart from the Need to Be Perfect. Here’s a free excerpt. And here’s another little treat for you: Get 10% off this book and everything else in my shop only for February with coupon code LOVED. You can get all your Valentine’s Day gifts {and something for you, too}.
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Welcome to the Coffee for Your Heart weekly link-up! You’re an encourager so I’m asking you to pour out a little love with your words every Wednesday {link-up goes live at 5:30am CST}. Simply write an encouraging blog post and then share it here. Don’t have a blog? You can still write an encouraging comment. If you’re reading this by email, go to holleygerth.com to see all the fun and join in too.
Pretty please use this button in your blog post so others can easily join in with us {html code in right sidebar}. And when you link up your post, take a moment to leave an encouraging comment on the one that’s linked up just before yours. Thanks, friends!
I’m having Coffee For Your Heart with my friend Holley Gerth
{click to tweet that you’re joining me here today}
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Thank you for the encouragement, Holley, and the linkup!
Oh the depths of His love ❤️. It is powerful and freeing as we grow in our understanding of God’s love. Thanks for sharing your heart again.
~Sherry Stahl
xoxo
Holley, I love how you make the point that understanding our place and understanding the deep love of God takes the pressure off of us. What a relief! “…The world is not on our shoulders; it’s in God’s hands.” This is so true and something that needs to be spoken into many hearts today. I’ll share this post and that quote and am so thankful for how you share Him through your writing! Your book, You are Loved No Matter What, was carried down from my bedside to my desk this morning before I even read this post!
What an awesome reminder! It’s so encouraging!
You truly are so very loved… XOXO
Thank you for the reminder, Holley. Thank-you!
Thanks Holley! This is just what I needed today. God bless you!
Thank you for this encouragement, Holley. I so easily forget how infinitely and perfectly God loves us and that He never expects perfection from us. Love and hugs!
Thank you Holley for your message today. I needed to hear that I’m loved. I feel so unloved. I’m not doing much these days. I mostly sleep and feel tired. I don’t do anything I used to do. No energy or motivation. I just don’t know how to snap out of it. I printed out you insert of “You’re Loved No Matter What”. I’ve gained so much weight which doesn’t help in my self-esteem. If you have any thoughts on this subject please let me know. Thanks.
Hey Sharon! Thanks for being honest with what you’re going through. It sure sounds like you’re struggling with depression. I understand because I have been there! I’d recommend that you talk with a counselor and your doctor–I did both when I felt the way you are last fall and it was so helpful. You don’t need to be ashamed of this and there are so many tools to help you feel better. You are worth fighting for! XOXO
I woke up this morning thinking about the Love of God and how we really don’t even have the ability to understand it…but we do have the opportunity to point others to the vast ocean of its welcoming. I so appreciate your encourager heart, Holley. Thanks for sharing His love with us.
Blessings,
Dawn
Holley, thanks so much for all the encouragement you serve up here! Thanks, too, for hosting. Blessings!
I sat up a little straighter as I read: “I’m a living paradox—small and yet called to big purposes, broken and yet showing God’s glory, weak and yet growing stronger every day.” What a marvelous Heavenly Father we have, to take such inferior material (me!) and fulfill big purpose through me, show off his glory in me, and make me stronger every day! Thank you for this encouragement, Holley!