The Art of True Love

Artists take their work very seriously. Any type of creative person keeps their work close to their heart. 

Have you ever been in close contact with a creative person? Then you know what I’m talking about. No matter what level they’re at, their work becomes extremely personal. Whatever you say about their work, you need to tread lightly. It’s a piece of them. They poured their heart into it. 

For years, I dealt with a lot of insecurities, fear, anxiety, and people-pleasing. God began to shed all of this when I really started seeking Him. It didn’t happen overnight as I had hoped. 

I thought I had to work for His love. Nope, not it. 

I thought I had to tear myself down to show Him how humble I was. Not at all. 

I grew frustrated. I had believed there was just going to be a wall between us for the rest of my life. A barrier I could hide behind when I inevitably made another mistake. The all-powerful God and little ‘ole me.  Seems that wasn’t right either.

God began to disassemble my wall brick by brick. Then He showed me, that for me to improve this relationship would be for me to love myself, not looking to please Him. 

I was confused. I got overwhelmed with emotion. Then I began to think. When I get mad at myself, tear myself down for mistakes, wish I had different attributes, wish I had different gifts and talents, didn’t want to deal with my weaknesses, how did that make God feel? To know He poured His all into making me just the way He wanted. Just the way He intended. His precious artwork. His masterpiece. 

Here I was minimizing His love crafted me and then turning around to praise Him. 

I don’t have any kids yet, but I could only imagine how a parent feels if you praised their parenthood then criticize their child. This is what God saw.

I have come a long way from that lesson. It still took time for me to get past my negative thoughts about myself. But reading my word, praying and asking Holy Spirit to guide me, has helped me so much. I realized those thoughts and actions were not what God said about me. So, I helped Him remove the bricks to my man-made wall. I can actually look in the mirror now and say, “wow”!

Not in a vain way. But truly loving me and seeing myself through the lens that God created me in. Don’t get me wrong, God didn’t expect me to stay the way I came to Him. He did however want me to see that He accepted me just the way I was in that season. Once I learned to receive that love, then I began to blossom and change from the inside out, instead of the outside in.

If you’re like me, take a moment today and appreciate who you are. 

God doesn’t just care about who you are growing into. He loves you just as much right now, flaws and all, nothing added or taken away.

When you love yourself, you also love on your Creator. When you appreciate who you are, you can appreciate who others are with no comparison. When you admire and honor the artwork, that’s an artist’s greatest love language. Keep loving the masterpiece that God Himself created and molded. Loving you is part of loving Him.