My weekly Sunday morning weigh in revealed a two ounce loss! The sarcastic element of my mind ping-ponged, “does two ounces and the word loss even count?” Well, I’m taking it! I’ll rejoice there was no weight gain and delight in the two small ounces! Two small ounces every week, over the period of eight weeks equals one pound…okay, never mind, in the process of trying to encourage myself – I’m kinda depressing myself! I’m taking the two ounce negative as a positive and gettin’ on with it!
The weekly nugget God revealed is thematic with the upcoming love day – Valentines’ Day – it is all about love!
He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not…
As a third grader, I conducted this “scientific experiment” in my pathetic attempt to determine if Bobby Massaglia wanted to spend the rest of his life with me! I don’t remember the petal drop outcome, but either way, it is unimportant as Dave Fink is the man that God made just for me, and me, him (and since I know me…I’m asking you to pray for Dave - for strength 
) !
This week’s nugget arrived from a detailed self examination. I realized, if I took my white lab coat and daisy in hand, to conduct the same scientific experiment today, my heart would alternate these verbal petal drops, “He loves me, I love me not. He loves me, I love me not.”
Yes, I know that God does love me; I am so deeply grateful! His detailed, personalized love is everywhere (and I’ll get into that a little bit later)! But why don’t I love myself? I prayed and asked God.
Honestly, it was on my continuously growing “To Do” list. But where? Oh, that’s right, there it was, at the butt-bottom of my list, the promise that I will love me again, right after I arrived at my goal weight (and at the proper body fat percentage too!). You know, when I am tidier and more presentable … right? Wrong. I reflect on old photos at that weight and quickly remember, I wasn’t too fond of myself then either.
I can draw just one hypothesis to this experiment:
He loved me yesterday (obese),
He loves me today (overweight) and
He will love me tomorrow (healthy).
I’m certainly not cooler than God, so since He loves me, I will love me too. Not loving me would be putting me on a higher “petal” stool than my Lord and that’s just wrong! What He says and does – I will follow and thank Him along the way!
Thank GOD! He deserves your thanks. His love never quits.
Thank the God of all gods,
His love never quits.
Thank the Lord of all lords.
His love never quits.
Psalm 136:1-3 (The Message)
His love never quit on me, even when I quit loving myself. I am always loved by God, whether in my skinny jeans or my fat pants, and because of His love, I will love myself (in a balanced, non-psycho way!) in the process.
No sooner did I finish drafting these thoughts than my dear friend, Kathy, called on the phone. Kathy, among other awesome things, is my former Beatles-groupie turned Jesus-groupie sister!
She asked me what God was revealing to me these days. I told her about the “He loves me, I love me not” message. She elatedly told me how God sent her personalized love through a Beatles song. God does love each of His kids so individually, that He speaks to us each uniquely. Kathy personalized the words to “Maybe I’m Amazed” by the Paul McCartney song into a worship to God song. Her old love into her new Love:
Maybe I’m amazed at the way You love me all the time
Maybe I’m afraid of the way I love you
Maybe I’m amazed at the way You pulled me out of time
You hung me on a line
Maybe I’m amazed at the way I really need you
God used my dear friend to confirm this message in my heart. Then, God sealed this love-yourself-because-He-loves-me Valentine’s Day message with a big S.W.A.K at lunch the following day. I took my sons out for our weekly lunch date, where, on the restaurant stereo, Paul McCartney sang another love song. Another reminder and delicious personalized hug from God; just cause He loves me!
As Valentine’s Day is approaching in just a few short days, do you sense God’s love around you? I know God sent Kathy and me some major love this Valentines, not via Paul McCartney, rather through the Holy Spirit!
Do you know, truly know and believe that God loves you today? Do you love yourself? If not, what’s prohibiting you?
PS (Just had to go there…)
He loves you yeah, yeah, yeah!
With a love like that
You know you sho-o-o-ould
Be Glad!
(The P.S. artistic liberties taken by me from the “She Loves You” song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney)
