featuring the painting "Loves Me, Loves Me Not"

Have you ever asked yourself, “Does anybody really love me?” “What’s the point in all of this?” “Can I even keep going?”

A little girl sat in the middle of a big field. She began picking the tiny daisies growing in the grass all around her. Pulling the petals off one by one she played “He loves me, he loves me not.” She didn’t know who “he” was, but sometimes he loved her, sometimes he didn’t.

- the rest of the story -

She picked more daisies, connecting them into a chain. She made a necklace, a crown, and a bracelet. She skipped home feeling like a princess in her daisy chains, singing loudly and off key, “Jeremiah was a bullfrog…. Joy to the world, all the boys and girls now, joy to the fishies in the deep blue sea, joy to you and me.”

She’d been told life was about “Love," "Peace," "Happiness” and covering everything in daisies. But as she entered the house, on the TV, the news was reporting riots. Young people covered in daisies and fringed leather were screaming, crying, bloodied and dirty. She was scared.

She ran upstairs and turned on her radio. “Where have all the flowers gone?”, the song asked. “Gone to graves every one”… by the end of the song, her eyes were filled with tears.

This is a composite of my childhood in the 60’s. It was a complicated mix of wonderful and horrifying. The young people of the 60’s were trying to find their purpose…their reason for being. They knew it had to be connected to love. But most ended up feeling more lost than ever.

It’s no different today. We are all seeking love. While in the 60’s the common answer was “Free Love”, today the common answer is “Self Love.” Neither of these strike me as very satisfying. They both just leave me focused on providing for myself. I yearn, have always yearned, to be securely loved by another just for who I am, in all my beauty and in all my flaws.

Honestly, there are a multitude of answers and theories out there about love and about purpose in life, but only one has made complete sense to me. The more I learn about it and understand it, the more satisfying it becomes. It’s a totally unearned, undeserved, and never ending love. It’s the love of God in the Bible. The love Jesus showed to every person with whom he came in contact.

Now hold on - I know to many, “Christianity” has been redefined to be those with strong political beliefs and actions. But that’s not what I’m talking about… set those preconceived notions aside and hear what I’ve found.

I’ve found a love that doesn’t depend on me doing right or wrong.

“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8 (NLT)

One that loves me for me. A love that was there before I even knew I wanted it.

“Even before he made the world, God loved us…” Ephesians 1:4

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins." I John 4:10 NLT

Love that is so permanent that if I turn away from it, it’s still there waiting for me when I turn back.

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.” Romans 8:35-38

It’s a love that is so loyal and so satisfying, I long to share it with others!

“But you, O Lord, are a God of compassion and mercy, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15

I am so thankful to have found this love from Jesus in the Bible. And I want to tell you today, if you are asking any of those questions above, the answer is YES! Yes, you ARE really loved. No matter what difficulties or losses you are facing today, you are loved!

Be reassured that you can keep going because you are loved.

We both know that we are not alone in needing this reassurance. You don’t need to be completely secure in this knowledge, or never struggle with these questions to share these truths with someone else who needs to hear it. I struggle and need to remind myself of these truths all the time! So go ahead next time you sense someone needs to know they can keep going because they are loved. Show them your love, and even more importantly, tell them about God’s love!