I have lived two very different lives. I have friends from both and am thankful for every single one.

From my teen years, I was in a steady downward spiral….. I realize now that I had no reliable compass… So I spent those years drifting and trying to figure out which way was up. I was trying to find my self worth through the eyes of others and never did find it down that alley. As my health deteriorated, my perception of my value to others decreased increasingly. My standards of others and moral values were declining in step with this perception.

And then the light shone into my darkness, He healed me of the sickness that had been stealing my life for over 18 years, He started to whisper to me in the still quiet hours of my days that He loves me with an everlasting love, that I am a precious daughter and bride that my worth to Him is infinite, and that I am accepted just as I am, that I am loveable, worth fighting for and adored.I am thankful that I never met the stodgy, wrathful, you must obey or else version of the Lord that so many religion’s try to superimpose on His loving, gracious, just (perfectly just) nature.

The sad reality, is most people don’t know Him. They know about Him through what others say and sadly, too much of what is said is outright wrong. For those who have had Jesus Christ represented inaccurately, I want to tell you He is amazing. He is patient, kind, loving, faithful beyond words, He sees you through the most favourable lens and is your greatest ally in a darkening world. He longs to talk with every single person on this planet. He can see the real you, the perfect, loving and kind you. He can see the real you in the worst moments of your life and still be for you and is forever willing to walk into the darkest places to bring you back into the light.

I know Him more and more each day. He talks to me. I love seeing me through His eyes. I love knowing that the bad things I think and do are not who he designed me to be. They are aftermarket add on things that happen to amazing good people as they try to live and breath in a fallen world. He sees you. And in case you have forgotten it on any level. You are amazing. You are kind, you are loving, you are capable of unimaginable greatness and you are very good. You matter and you are precious.

I woke up today to this thought. “You are loved with an everlasting love”…. Can I tell you how delightful it is to wake up to the Creator of the Universe whispering this into your heart.

Dear friends, You really are loved with an everlasting love. Don’t be discouraged by the religious people who have misrepresented Him in your life. You know how many people have known you but not well and therefore misrepresented or misunderstood you.

“Hope is the little feeling we have that the big feeling we are having is only temporary” – unknown

“Jeremiah 31:3-5New Living Translation3 Long ago the Lord said to Israel:“I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.4 I will rebuild you, my virgin Israel. You will again be happy and dance merrily with your tambourines.5 Again you will plant your vineyards on the mountains of Samaria and eat from your own gardens there.”

I love you and am praying for you this morning.