I was talking to a friend yesterday about love. Yes, it’s a frequently discussed topic. This friend stated that one of the reasons for many mishaps in life was due to feeling a loss for love from others. Yes, there was a realization at some point that love was needed from within, and that realization changed this person’s course.
On a different note, I started thinking about this as a Christian. Yes, we hear on more than one occasion that what we’re looking for and the love we’re looking for is within. But I realized my journey has been a little different from that. I realized that God has taken me on many different adventures to try to get me to love myself. There are many things in my life that I wanted to hide from others at one point or another, like being gay for instance. God made me search within myself and accept myself for who I was when I thought I was fine just reaching within and finding God’s love for me. I found peace and love when I said “yes” and was not afraid to share my heart, soul, and depths of who I was with others.
My point, no matter what it is that you need to say “yes” to. Whether it’s “yes” to being a missionary, a chef, a chief, more masculine than feminine, a female instead of a male, a crossing guard, a security guard, a clown, a leader, a pastor, a prayer warrior–don’t be afraid to say “yes” to who you are. This is when freedom, peace, and love really flow in–not necessarily from another person, or God even. Finding love for yourself is the greatest gift that God can give you, and God won’t give up on you to help you find it–God will lead you to it if you allow God to do so. Just like Psalm 23 says, “He leadeth me to the paths of rightousness for his name sake.” God also leads us to rivers of love if we follow. The ocean in our heart is infamous and only we ourselves can access it with God’s guiding hand. Find the love that God has for you, accept the love that others give you, but accept God’s greatest gift, and that is love for yourself. You are “fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14).