Loved!

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

As a child, I would sing “Jesus Loves Me” along with my friends. Yet I could never really understand what it really meant. God loving me was a foreign concept. I wasn’t pretty or very good; I teased my siblings and forgot to brush my teeth. I was unable to understand how an omnipotent being could love an insignificant little girl like me.

As a teenager, I worked hard to be a good daughter and good student. I taught Sunday School and helped with AWANA. I memorized verses and prayed daily. Yet even then I could not fathom how God could love someone like me. After all, I knew I talked back to my mom and cheated on my math. I needed to be “good enough” to be loved by a powerful God.

Then, 10 years ago today, the truth finally became real for me. I had left an appointment and was driving to my husband's office to join him for lunch. I had just exited off the freeway when it came to me. It was as though God struck me with a lightning bolt. One moment it was not there, the next understanding moved from my head to my heart. I knew at that moment what I had struggled to understand all my life, what I had been taught from the day I was born until that moment. God loved me, there was no doubt. Not only did I know it was true, but I felt it in my soul. He loved me, not for anything I had done or not done or would ever accomplish. He loved me simply because I existed. Every part of me was loved because I was His creation. He planned me since before time existed. He planned everything about me from the mole on my hand to the lack of wisdom teeth. He planned that I would have a sense of humor and a tendency to procrastinate. He knew I would have my family’s tendency toward depression. He knew that I would learn and grow from the life experiences that would come my way. He knew that I would grow strong through Him and He knew that I would strive to become more like Him even with my failings. Even with all my imperfections and mistakes, He loved me because I am His.

In Psalm 139, David praises God for His attention to every detail of his being. God knows every move we make and He watches with care as we make our way through life’s pathways. And He is always with us each step of the way. His love is amazing and is beyond anything we can imagine.

You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous--and how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. How precious are your thoughts about me, O God! They are innumerable! I can't even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up in the morning, you are still with me!

Psalm 139:13-18