August 12, 2011

I am loved

“I like not only to be loved, but to be told I am loved.” ~T.S. Elliot

If you are visiting today from Proverbs 31 Ministries, welcome friends! So glad you're here.

Not long ago, I was strolling the coffee menu at a local shop with my eyes. She nearly missed my line of sight. Red buttons clicked and clattered for release from their basket she held. Their ransom from captivity was paid in a story shared by the woman holding their prison.

Cold metal buttons and her words bestowed truth.

"He waded in gloomy belief he was unlovable. Until one day he scooped up his courage. He asked her on a date. Days, months, a year passed. He kept asking. She kept saying yes.

Yet lingering in the dark places of his heart was the fear he wasn't loveable. Until... Until he asked her to marry him. And. She. Said. Yes.

He ran into the streets. He shouted from the rooftops. He beamed,

'I am loveable. I. AM. LOVED.'"

So pleased was he, he had buttons made to share the good news!

He was Barnett Helzberg Jr., president of Helzberg Diamonds. Riches dripped. Gold oozed. Diamonds literally fell from his fingers. Yet without knowledge, sure knowledge he was loveable, he was unsatisfied, unwhole, uncomplete.


Love is a quirky thing. Our hearts crave it. Need it. Engineered to respond to it. Yet often we shun it. Scorn it. Refuse or hide from it when it's offered. Why?

I think it's a defense. Have you been told or felt you are not worth loving? Perhaps your dad abandoned his parental duty to love you. Your husband broke his vow to love only you. A best friend cast venom on sisterly love.

Maybe your weight, your singleness, your friendlessness, your {fill in the blank} casts a chilly shadow void of warm love. Doors of your heart shut and you think, "I won't be that vulnerable to love ever again."

Mr. Helzberg's story is sweet, but he remained in the cold lies if he did not embrace the truth of One Love. We do too.

Our heart must accept what our mind knows: No matter what you've done... or what's been done to you... You are loveable because Love called your name before you was born. Love delicately formed you in your mother's womb. Love left His throne for a cross. Love lifted the stone and the curse and you from the pit.Why?

Because He loves you. Because you are loveable.
Because He says so, He thinks so, He feels so.

Friend, my driver's side visor is pinned with this truth, "I am loved." A reminder wherever I go: I am loveable. A reminder for anyone who journeys in my passenger seat. But an invisible reminder written on my heart is more precious, more valuable, more eternal. It's the very Word of God. Can I encourage you... will you do something for me, for you, this month?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To enter to win A Confident Heart by Renee Swope, leave a comment with a story of how God has shown you His love. Please make sure to leave your email address. Thanks!

Will you post a note that says, "I am loved" in your car or home or office? And then, will you write one of these verses per week on the tablet of your heart? You are loveable. But don't take my word for it...Take His.

Week 1: Jeremiah 31:3, The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'

Week 2: Psalm 86:12-13, I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever. For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths.

Week 3: Psalm 94:18-19, When I said, “My foot is slipping,” your unfailing love, LORD, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.

Week 4: Numbers 14:18, The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.

Thanks again for joining us! We've been jumping off the train of negative thoughts. Care to join us? Catch up by clicking here...

xoxo, Sam

p.s. you can pick up a free "I am Loved" pin at Helzberg stores. AND you can order 3 free "You are Loved" pins here!

41 comments:

Janet said...

There's a lot of stories I could share, but the first one that comes to mind is my two sons. I look at them and am reminded of God's great love. They are truely a gift!

Blessings,
Janet
gatorgirl66@hotmail.com

Fields of gold said...

Janet, that's beautiful! Children are such a blessing and reminder of God's daily love.

Thanks for sharing!
Sam

Wendy Barcroft said...

God has blessed me with a wonderful family. Every day I know I am loved by the one who created me. My husband, my parents, my son, and my sisters all love me just as I am. I know that some people don't have what I have, so I never take it for granted. God is so very good to me!

Fields of gold said...

Wow, Wendy! I love that!! It is easy to take those blessings for granted. I appreciate your perspective!!

~Sam

Anonymous said...

Trying this again, doesn't look like my comment went through, if it pops up, you can delete this one :).

Hindsight is 20-20 and I can honestly say that looking back at the hardest times in my life, He placed godly women to renew my strength and, at times, remind me just how loved I am by my Creator. Each one helped draw me closer to God.

I just hope I can do that for the people God puts in my path!

Fields of gold said...

Heather, that's beautiful. And I hope you know... you already do renew other's strength through His Word and prayer!! Love ya girl!

Leah DiPascal said...

Sam,

I loved your devotional this morning! Thanks for opening your heart and sharing your deepest thoughts with so many. You've truly blessed me today by your gift of compassion.

Love ya much,
Leah

Sharon Sloan said...

Dear Sam:

I am at the beach doing happy dances!!!! :)

Oh, friend....our Redeemer has loved me with a perfect, everlasting love. I am SO humbled and thankful. By His mercy, He has shown me His love through salvation and by graciously giving me the gift of a wonderful husband and two precious cherubs. And another precious cherub, our Glory Baby who has gone ahead to welcome us to heaven one day. He has shown me His love through daily blessings of family and friendship. He has shown me His love by giving Himself.

LOVE you friend!
Sharon
(can you hear me woo-hooing from Ocean City!?!?!?!?!?!!?)

Debra said...

I know I am loved because whenever I need a friend-God is there-whenever I need encourage-God is there-whenever I am hurt-God is there-He is my all. No one is always there but God is and that is love.

Erica said...

I feel God's love through his daily provision. I experience His unconditional love through my disabled son, who seems to have forgiveness down pat. And I show God's love by smiling. That simple act is so underrated today and it means the world to see someone smile back.
erica.grafton@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

Sam,
Thank you for your devotional. When I think of how God has shown His love for me the list seems endless. Everyday I am blessed by my family and those around me who show me their love for me. I think the dearest time, however, was when we lost our 3rd child. I cannot begin to put into words the sweetness of the love of our heavenly Father toward us. The sweet answers to prayer. Our healing that we were praying for was not realized this side of heaven, but the peace and love that He poured out on us was unbelievable. Oh, how gentle and sweet our Father is to us!! Precious!!
Thank you for the reminder. :) Always good to park your mind there for awhile.
Jennifer
ejwallin@usfamily.net

Crystal said...

Dear Samantha,

When I first read the title I thought I'm lovable, and I don't need this. I inserted my past problem in the verse thinking I'm over this, and I am.
But a few years ago, I felt rejected by my husband and felt unlovable. Today our marriage is restored, but the scars still remain reminding me of my need for a Savior and my dependence on knowing He will always love me. But my Lord brought me through this step by step, and He's always there to wrap an arm around me and remind me He will always be my refuge and companion.

Thank you and Blessings,
Crystal
storms.crystal@gmail.com

Rita Huffman said...

God shows us so many times every day...we just don't always see it! The one prominent time in my life was when I was in the holding area waiting for my partial thyroidectomy to begin. I was scared beyond belief. At almost 40 years of age, the only time I had been in the hospital was to have my son. I began to pray to God that I knew He was always with me but if He didn't show himself strong that they were going to see this hospital gown flapping in the wind as I ran back up Highway 105 to my house! About that time, I had pressure on my chest. It felt just like the weight of a man's hand. My heart immediately began to slow back down and my breathing went back to normal. I felt God's hand laying over my heart until I was completely asleep for surgery. I knew that no matter what, God was there with me and loved me. He never left me! Good thing because I found out 3 days later that I had thyroid cancer and was scheduled for a completion thyroidectomy and a RAI treatment. The road the last 8 years hasn't been easy and I do still think that I am not lovable or loved but it only runs through my head a second when I remember that God is always there and He wouldn't do that for someone that wasn't lovable! We serve an awesome God!

Rita Huffman, rita.huffman@earthlink.net

Anonymous said...

I still struggle with feeling "unloveable". I remember breaking down when I told a friend I needed prayer because I felt like God had created me to be rejected. I had grown up with parents who are addicts. I felt unwanted and unloved as they made decisions and said things that made me feel like I was in their way, a burden.

When I was 12 years old I decided to invite Jesus in my heart. Being a Christian without any guidance was hard! I remember trying to read the Bible as a little girl and being very confused, but I decided I wanted to go to Bible college and become some sort of a Youth Leader. When I shared this with a teacher at my high school (who was also a pastor at a church), he discouraged me. He told me that women weren't allowed to teach, or share things from the Bible. I was crushed. Pretty soon after this conversation, my life headed down a dark path. I turned my back on God on for four years, and decided to do things my own way.

A lot of different things happened in those four years to help lead me back to God. I got plugged into a new church, but I felt so much shame about my past. I did a lot of really messed up, sinful things during those four years. And I did them knowing there was a God.

After being committed to God for about two years and spending a lot of time working through my past, my Pastors asked me if I'd like to work with the youth kids. They told me they were praying and they felt like God told them I should work as a youth leader. I was so excited that God not only forgave me for my past but redeemed it so that I could help young girls. God said "You're good enough" even when others didn't believe it!

kristin8124@yahoo.com

May said...

I have felt God's love, guidance and healing in many situations in the past. Most recently I have been seeing/feeling God's love and guidance with a financial/job situation, which is a first for me. This has shown me that God helps us with EVERYTHING and that he is involved and taking care of EVERYTHING no matter how new, how small, how big, how old...no matter the situation...God's already taking complete care of it. I thank you from deep in my heart for today's Prov 31 post. It brought back memories and was a huge reminder of God's complete love, complete acceptance, complete non-judgment and complete care. Have a beautiful weekend! With lots of love, May

Edith said...

One way God has shown His love is through discovering Proverbs31!! The daily devotions are like manna for my soul.
In the spring our family encountered a crisis that felt like a death. In desparation I was surfing the web looking for something, anything that might encourage me as a mother and wife. I came across this website and almost glossed over it but the daily devotion tab caught my eye and wouldn't you know it, the devotion was exactly what I needed to read. And even more a comment left by one of the readers "jumped out and grabbed me." I have been able to connect with her. It turns out she went through a similar experience and what an encouragement she is.
And again today, this devotion fits in with the Suzanne Eller "Women Walking in Faith" bible study You Tube videos that I discovered just this week.One of the first steps is to recognize God's truths and satan's lies. God is showing me lies that get me off track and feeling unworthy, unloved is one of them. God knew i needed to hear your message.

God Bless the proverbs 31 ministry!

tofino@hotmail.com

Janice said...

I am reminded daily of God's love for me in so many ways. Mostly it is the peace that passes understanding that comes over me when I wonder why I was the one to marry my husband who has hurt me so many times, and now is in jail. I am reminded that I am loved and I was chosen to show the love of Christ to him and to others through my commitment to my husband, and my trust in God to
"complete the good work He began". Thank you for being another one of those reminders for me! (crochet_addict@yahoo.com)

DearLove said...

Thank you for this post. Sometimes I struggle because I've lost so much: family, job, home, friends. There are times it is overwhelming. Then God reminds me of the many ways he loves me and shows it. I don't have my first family, but He has given me new "family" members; I don't have a job, but I am still able to share the gifts he has given me by volunteering. I don't have an "dream" home, but I have one, thank God! I don't have the same friends, but again, he is blessing me with new ones. He prompted me to read your post. It filled my eyes with tears and my heart with joy. Thank you for helping God restore my perspective and give me added assurance that I'm not alone!

Kathy Scott said...

It is wonderful to realize the unconditional love that our Heavenly Father has for me. Despite all the barriers that I put up in resistance to His Call, He brought me into His Kingdom by His revelation and mercy. I am thankful for a new life in Christ where I can experience the life and love of Jesus in my everyday experiences.

Tiffany Temple said...

Hey I'd like to share part of a coffee shop story that I posted on my blog about the very topic...
I asked a lady nearby if I could sit with her while I waited on my drink. As I sat, I noticed a beautiful flower on her table. I complimented her on it, and she said that a man had been there handing them out to the ladies. She said that it was special because it was as if God was telling her that He loved her. I said, "Isn't it nice when God delights us with such wonderful, unexpected surpr..." then suddenly, before I could finish my statement, as if to surprise me, a man approached me with the beautiful flower pictured above. I was thrilled! The lady smiled and said, "See, God loves you, too!"

Samantha, thanks for letting us share! Another big thanks for the opportunity to get a copy of Renee Swope's book!!
Tiffany
tiffanytemple@yahoo.com

Connecting to the soul said...

Anonymous, at Kristin8124 you have me in tears, you could have written my story, I am so sorry you had a rough childhood. But it looks like Our Wonderful Glorious Father knew right where you should be - ( where you are now ) isnt it wonderfil.... Praise God.

Much of myu childhood was filled with abusive situations and encounters. for the lognest time I thought I was here just to be used as a rag doll. But God walked every step with me and continually whispers "you are loved - I love you" I love you."

Debi at djohnson5.2007@gmail.com

Connecting to the soul said...

sorry for the typos shows what typing through tears can do -

Lee Ann said...

I have struggled with feeling unloveable for many years. I have recently learned how much God loves me and has blessed me in my life. Even through everything that has happened I can see God's hand in my life. He has blessed me now with a husband that loves me so much!

Lee Ann
tazladyok@cox.net

Anonymous said...

Today, ten minutes ago I was crying out to God, telling Him I cannot live like this any more. He led me to pick up my computer and read my e-mail. Your devotion was right there and the words I needed to hear from Him. Praise God.

Kathy

Connecting to the soul said...

Kathy God is so good! You are loved and cherished. Never forget that. I'm glad God led you this post.

Debi

Alexya Cabezas said...

Hello, my name is Alexya. I would really like the chance to win a copy of "a confident heart" because ive been dealing with chronic insecurity for many years. I know God loves me even if ive had battles to conquer in my life and i feel like I havent yet conquered them all.. But God is still in control right :)?.. I am from El Salvador but went to college in South Carolina to study all by myself. I went to study abroad.. after i graduated college, I had a working visa and was allowed to work in the states for one year. That year after 6 months my apartment lease was coming to a an end and I had to find another place to live and quick. I was really stressed out trying to find where to live. And I needed a cheap place also. I went to see many apartments but they were too expensive for my budget. One day I went to church and a woman named Donna said she had been trying to reach me and ask me if I still was looking for a place to live? I said I was and she said God spoke to her over and over in her devotional time that I was looking for a place to live and since she had an extra room in her house she should offer that place for me to live for the next 6 months. I was really touched when I saw how important I am to God that He would make someone know I was lloking for a place to live.. :) My email is: alexyacabezas@yahoo.com

Dorothy said...

You have to have a heart to love or be loved. My heart got broken. Since I couldn't fix it, I did with it like I do with everything else I can't fix. I discarded it.

Connecting to the soul said...

Dorthy God is just waiting to restore your heart. He has kept every tear you have shed and loves you very much.

achildoftheking said...

Sam, that's a great reminder that we "are loved". Funny story... I have one of those buttons. I also have a stuffed puppie and bag that have it written across. It was a campaign a diamond store was running and they gave it to us as a gift of our support in support of their "thing" they were doing. I equated the same story you shared from this pin/bag/stuffed puppie. I was going to give it to someone... but, as things happened I never was able to give it away! I've kept it! Great story!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for your posts on overcoming negative thoughts. In 2007 I ended up in the hospital for 2 1/2 weeks(without insurance). The Lord took care of a huge part of my hospital bill and has healed my body beyond what I expected at that time. I praise Him and thank Him for His awesome love and care. At that time I was also on a fixed income so I feel so wonderfully blessed for all He has done for me.

I am so thankful that He has made it possible for me to be the caregiver for my 98 yr old mother and I live close enough so I can help my son and daughter-in-love by babysitting with my four granddaughters.

Fannie in Kansas
fgoldsmith@cox.net

Fleener's said...

Thank you for your devotional - I think we all feel unlovable some of the time and have difficulty understanding or believing that others can love us when we sometimes have problems loving ourselves. Your words spoke to my heart today - thank you!

Emily

stephanie said...

God has shown me His love lately by putting such amazing women of faith in my life. He lavished His love upon me as I sat visiting with you and Dani, and Mel...one of the best experiences of my life. Love you Sam...love love love love you!!!

Margaret said...

I came across your blog on this lonely Saturday morning. I had forgotten that His Word tells me that I am beautifully and wonderfully made and that I am loved no matter the circumstances of my life that tell me otherwise. Thanks for your ministry.

Shuquin said...

God shows His love everyday by waking me up each & everyday. However, when He gave me my daughter on the 14th of this month was the most exciting day of my life :). I used drugs from the time I was 18 up until 5 yrs ago & during my process I been through plenty of trials & tribulations, but God got me through. I am happy that God has given me back everything that the devil stole from me.........He has given me back my self-worth, self-respect, loving myself, caring for myself, & today I am a full time student @ a community college & I'm majoring in nursing :). He is my Jehovah Jirah "My Provider", Jehovah Shalom "My Prince of Peace", so I have so much to say about His grace & mercy. He show me love every second, minute, hour, & day :o)

Fields of gold said...

Praying over each and every one of your hearts. Thank you so much for sharing. May the grace and peace of our Father cover your hurts and pains. And redeem and restore the things that have been stolen. He CAN and DOES give back double!!

My favorite scripture right in this season is Zechariah 9:12,
Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you.

That is my prayer for y'all!

xoxo, Sam

P.S. I'll announce the winner on Tuesday!!

Rachael M. said...

Honestly - this is the hardest lesson I'm still trying to learn. I've been left by two husbands and with my last I have a small daughter to raise on my own. It is hard to feel like God loves me when he is letting all this happen.

Yet I know there are ways he is moving and things he is bumping me into so that I'll find my way out.

But I have to remind myself many times a day.

It's exhausting.

But worth it. I really want to come out of this horrible situation with at least knowing that I am not broken. I am not unlovable. I am worthy.

I want to come out of it so that I can help my daughter to overcome those feelings when they inevitably come.

rachaelmuldrow@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Everywhere I look I see God's love for me! I am so blessed! Kelly

Anonymous said...

I cried when I read your Devotion (3 days later). The part that Hit hard at home was "She’s so lovable, I call her Mine and nothing she does—nothing that happens to her—can take My love from her."

About 9 months ago, my life had hit rock bottom. I was on the verge of loosing my marriage due to an affair I committed. I had betraid the man I loved. But God, showed me he loved me. In December, he saved my life from my sins and gave me grace. He accepted me and called me his own. Nothing I did, or that happened to me changed his love for me.

In the end, My husband stayed with me. We are in counseling and are moving in the right direction. I make mistakes, but God has loved me through it all and taught me through it all.

Thanks for the devotion!

Carrie
carrietomkins@windstream.net

Anonymous said...

I just wanted to say that my heart is truly touched by everyone's stories... one way God has shown me today that He loves me is by bringing me here. I feel like I am surrounded by ladies who have wonderful stories of faith and love, so many testimonies of God's love overcoming hurt, pain, and shame. I am struggling most at this point is shame, for so many things I have done in my past. I am healing slowly, and I thank God for the rebuilding He has done in my life over the past several years. "I'm not what I have done, but what I've overcome." Love you guys!

Emilea
emileatalton@yahoo.com

A Journey For Life said...

Knowing God is there is a blessing and the gift of my two children!!

Unknown said...

God just reminded me of His love through your writing. Thank you. I know that it was Friday's P31 devotion, but for some reason, I decided not to delete it even though it's now Monday. Thank you again.