all you need is....

okay, so maybe the beatles had it right, "all you need is love". because without love, what are we? and what does it mean to love?

"...and if i have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, i am nothing." 2 corinthians 13:2

"love is patient and kind..." 2 corinthians 13:4

"love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things." 2 corinthians 13:7

"so now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 2 corinthians 13:13

amazingly, God is able to be all of these things, encompassing all these qualities, just for us. i can see it at different times in the world and even within the people i meet and encounter on a day to day basis. i can even exhibit these qualities to others, but not to myself. i'm sure you can understand that it's easier to apply it to others. because when we apply it to ourselves, it forces us to be honest with ourselves, and to deeply apply it to my own life, take it into my heart and let it be there, is something different.

i know that i should feel the love that God gives,
to embrace it,
to let it flow through me,
cover me,
heal me,
let it take care of my brokenness,
and love me for who i am and where i am at right now.

...but i struggle with that...

the unconditional love that God supplies is hard to swallow because i see myself as undeserving and not worthy. and as i type that, i hear God saying...

"no beth, that's not right because....
you are worthy,
you are deserving,
and i love you."