You Are Loved

  You are loved. So many of us long to hear those three simple words...We want to be told that we have value to someone, that another cares for us and wants us. There are times when we do not hear these things. All we hear is the silence. All we feel is the aching and emptiness. Life speeds on by us. We think we have no place in it, that love is nowhere to be found. We think we have no value. We sense that we are left alone...

  But look around you: that little bird in the tree? Its song tell of One who does value you. It says, " You are loved." See that little flower outside your window? The God who made it knows everything about you - and He says, " You are loved." Those large and imposing mountain peaks? He sees those, yet He takes far more notice of you. Lonely, hurting you. He holds the entire world together, but He cares for you. The God of the Universe reaches out for you - you - and says, " You're loved. You're loved because I chose to love you first. I knew about you since the beginning of time. Before any of my creation existed, I had a plan for your life. I made a place for you in this world. You are valuable - to me. You are loved - by me. You are not alone."

 I hear these words spoken in my own soul, and I smile. Oh, how I smile. I smile because that message of "You are loved" was there all along. I just had to learn to notice it. The thought that my life had no purpose, no value, was only a lie. He is demonstrating His love for me in so many ways. I just need to listen, to wait for it. To look and see it. His grace is everywhere. He notices; He cares - for you as well as for me. We are loved.