You. Yes, You....and Me too.

Sometimes, we need to be reminded that we are worthy, just as we are.

Right now.  Yes, I mean it.  Right now.

I have often placed my worth upon what I do, how I look, who likes me, yatta, yatta, yatta.  You know the words and phrases.  I'll bet some of them sound like Brene Brown's list, which she calls "worthiness prerequisites:"

I'll be worthy when I lose twenty pounds.
I'll be worthy if I get pregnant.
I'll be worthy if I get/stay sober.
I'll be worthy if everyone thinks I'm a good parent.
I'll be worthy when I can make a living selling my art.
I'll be worthy if I can hold my marriage together.
I'll be worthy when I make partner.
I'll be worthy when my parents finally approve.
I'll be worthy if he calls back and asks me out.
I'll be worthy when I can do it all and look like I'm not even trying.

God tells us that we need to throw those "ifs and whens" out the window.   In God's radical way, God loves us right now, in this moment, and there's nothing you can do about it.  You can't gain it, and you can't lose it.  God's love is out of your control.  God loves you.  Can we grow?  Yes.  Can we change? Yes.  Can we backslide? Yes.  But it doesn't change how God feels about you, right now.  And in the next second, or the next hour, or the next week or next year even.  God's love is steadfast.  You can test it, stretch it, deny it, turn your back on it, but God's love for you doesn't change.

There's no "doing what it takes to be needed or to fit in."  We already belong to this God who loves us in action, not just a warm, fuzzy feeling.  We are important to God's creation and to the Kingdom God is striving for in our world.

So take a deep, cleansing breath, inhaling pure love.  Then smile and/or wink at the next person you see.  They need to be reminded that they are worthy too, just as they are.

Grace and joy,
Julie