What Every Young Woman Needs To Hear

The 14th is coming up, and y'all know what that means...

Valentine's Day DAY OF CHOCOLATE

jk.

(sort of.)

but I digress...

Every year, there's a particular day in which single ladies may feel more lonely and more acutely aware of feeling lonely.
You'll see elderly couples strolling through the park, a husband and wife holding hands while gazing out into the sunset, a boyfriend and girlfriend eating at a restaurant on a date night...the list goes on, and yeah, maybe you're like me and are simultaneously happy to see other people happy, but also have felt that loneliness before.

When those feelings of loneliness surface,
I want you to know that God loves you.

This is what every young woman needs to hear:
God loves you.

He's not some far-off, distant entity who's controlling the world like puppets on string.
He's not some deity who demands you to be good.
He's not imaginary.

God is real, and God wants you to know that he is the giver of all joy, all hope, all love.

No matter how many times we mess up or are hurting or feel lonely, God actually truly really does love you.

We have someone who can complete us. We have someone who can actually make us truly feel valued. We have someone who says He would do anything for us.

And how do we know?

How do we actually know that there's someone out there who loves us unconditionally? With a love that can change us? A love with no limits?

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. +1 John 4:9

Ladies, you are made in the image of God.
You are beautiful, not because of what you look like, but because of who made you.
The God of the universe (the whole big vast mind-boggling universe!) knows how many hairs you have on your head. The God who made the mountains and the oceans and the stars in the sky formed you in your mother's womb and saw you before you were even born on earth. The God who gave his life for you wants you to know that you can have eternal life with him, eternal joy, forever.

And when that truly sinks into your soul, you realize that you don't need the world's validation. When you realize that your true identity is in Christ, then you can start loving others with Christ's love.

(And trust me, it's hard. We as human beings are not perfect, and we can never love another person perfectly.)

But the more you walk with God... the more you begin to love other people, not because you want them to love you back, but because God already loves you. It's like we're a cup, and when we let God's love fill us up, his love will overflow to other people.

Thankfully, we can never "earn" God's love. God offers his love freely to anyone and everyone. All you need to do is accept his gift :).

So.

This Valentine's Day (and any other day!), if you're ever feeling lonely, just know that Someone loves you, and He's reaching out his hand to you, and all you have to do, is just reach your hand out back to him.

***

PS thankful for these lovely ladies for spending an early GALENTINE'S DAY with me!

breakfast-ing

Mary's Milk Bar-ing