- Loving our neighbors, even if their dogs bark all night.
- Loving a brother, who hates you.
- Loving a neighbor, who needs help.
Sometimes love is easy, especially if we have a significant other or family and friends who are close to us. Loving those who we are angry at is never easy because we want to prove that we are right:) Loving neighbors? Even the neighbors who never wave or smile? Yes, loving neighbors, both good and bad ones. This act of love is one that stretches us. It is a practice we must engage in daily. But there is one other person that is difficult to love…
Ourselves.
Hopefully, this does not apply to everyone, but I know it will resonate with many. I love others well yet do not love myself (I don’t say this to encourage compliments from readers). When I look in the mirror, I see a woman who messed up on her diet. A woman who needs to color her hair, and lose twenty more pounds. A woman who is in pain but still moving. I cannot be in love with myself because I see the flaws, the mistakes, the wrinkles that have years of worry etched into my skin and my soul.
Sound familiar?
I need to find that small voice I heard when I was in elementary school calling me to follow the Holy Spirit. The voice that told me Jesus was always with me and I was special. The voice that urged me to finally go to seminary. Yes, this is the voice I need to reclaim so that I will fall in love with my heart and soul.
Falling in love with yourself first doesn’t make you vain or selfish, it makes you indestructible. -Unknown
Will you join me on this journey to self-love?
Grace and peace,
Caz
- dog walks
- an organized office
- Sunday morning rituals
- a New Mexico sky
- learning to weave
