February 5, 2022

Dear Ones,

Hope you are having a relaxing warm weekend. It is snowing and cold and so nice to be inside. This morning I studied and cleaned, and made a meat loaf dinner; the aroma still fills the apartment!

Devotions from Judy’s heart

How do we view ourselves? Do we love ourselves out of who we are in Christ?  Accepting who God made us to be is important but that doesn’t mean we become narcissistic and so focused on ourselves that we have little thought for others. It is not easy to be around people who think only of themselves but on the other hand, we also all need to have a healthy view of ourselves. Jesus said in Matt 22:39, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself (that is, unselfishly seek the best of higher good for others).”This verse is repeated 8 times in scripture so it must be important.

Some feel they are worthy and loved only if they have a title or degree by their name. Sometimes Al gets mail addressed to him as Alan Hendrickson, other times as Pastor Alan Hendrickson, or could be Doctor Alan Hendrickson, but it makes no difference for he is the same person inside.

So how is our relationship with ourselves? Sometimes we may be impatient and harder on ourselves than we are with others, and we need to just accept that we are not perfect. God is still working on us and we need to have patience and admit when we are wrong, and let Him smooth down our rough edges.

The big question to ask ourselves is how does God see us? It’s His perspective that carries the full weight of how we see ourselves and not our twisted unhealthy views. We have so many scriptures telling us we are precious, we are valued, we are the crown of His creation, we are loved. We need to see ourselves as God sees us and receive His love before we can love others.

It helps to spend some time alone with the Lord and let His words of love touch our hearts. He knew us when we were knit together in our mother’s womb and His work was wonderful. We need to let go of any negative thought patterns about ourselves and let His positive affirmations flood our souls. If you have trouble seeing positive things, it might be helpful to ask your spouse or a close friend what things they see in you. Al uses different words to describe me, and although we often jest about them, I keep a list on the counter of the new words he comes up with. I love his latest…”You are a natural, total, authentic woman!” And then we laugh.

Yes, we sin daily but God doesn’t love us less. We only see how much He loves us even in our stink, and we rely on His grace and mercy. Let us receive His love deep into our hearts and then love others in the same way.

Challenge for today: Write down some positive affirming words that God and others see in you.