A Joy to Be Loved!

Soon, I plan on blogging about how the Lord delights in me!  What a wonderful thing to think about!  But for now, I just want to share with you a few things about how God has recently reminded me that I am loved!

For many, many years, I struggled with understanding that I am loved -- particularly, how I am loved by God!  My search for love had been a desperate one. I wish I would have realized then what I know now!  After a change of heart and repentance of my ugly sin, I began to see His love more clearly as the days went by. "Your love is amazing, O God!" is now the cry of my heart!

The Lord has blessed me with a husband who strives to put God first; as long as he does that, he is able to love me the way God intended for him to.  How amazing it is to be a wife when my husband loves the Lord more than me! 

Over the last year, I've learned that one of my favorite things to do is to recognize the ways in which the Lord delights in me, the things and ways in which He teaches me, the way He encourages me, and the way He shows His love for me!

When I went to the mirror in our master bathroom on Valentine's Day, I saw this delightful surprise written by my hubby (I love surprises!).  Simple, but so meaningful and loving! 

(I took this photo after a shower so that you wouldn't have to see the ickies on our mirror!  :)  The photo on the wall to the left is from our wedding day when we were on the porch of Santillane together at some point during the ceremony. For someone whose perspective on Valentine's Day has always been one of sadness, even after getting married, this simple gesture spoke volumes to my tender heart!  I left this writing up on my side of the large mirror for about 2 weeks after Valentine's Day.  When I got ready for work in the mornings or for bed in the evenings, I looked at my face in the middle of that heart and felt delighted in!  I would have left it up even longer, but one evening this week, I came home from work to find a new surprise on the mirror! (I didn't take a picture of this one with steam, so please excuse the icky spots!)

In case you can't read it well with the background, it says:


You are so beautiful! I am blessed to have you as my wife!  God is working in my heart to love you better! Be encouraged, for you are loved!
                          - <heart> Tom

  
I was/am encouraged!  My heart swelled with joy and my eyes welled with tears! While I read this message, my honey was working hard on some much-needed cleaning in the house that I hadn't had time to get to. His actions match his words!  My eyes remained brimmed with tears as I realized that the reason Tom can love me like this is because of God. Tom gets his strength and inspiration and perspective and love from God, which means that any love that Tom shows me is really God loving me!  I now have an even better perspective on something else that is always attached to my mirror:

Back when Tom and I were doing our pre-marital counseling with Dr. Keffer, I was having some serious trust issues due to my past habits and relationships; many of my difficulties were a result of not fully understanding how/why God loves me and not loving myself either.  Dr. Keffer wrote this down on the back of his business card one day and told me to keep it somewhere that I would see it every day, and that I should repeat it out loud every day for as long as it took for me to really believe it. I did. Along with some other things, it helped a lot! Seeing the message from Tom on the mirror (previous photo) allowed God to speak to my heart anew and remind me again that He loves me deeply and that I can trust in His faithfulness! (By the way, I highly, highly recommend Dr. Keffer if you need help with anything! http://newbeginningscounsel.com/default.aspx)

It truly is a joy to be loved!  :) 

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