24. You Are Loved

tune in to the frequency of the Divine

In many ways, that could just be the blog post, “You are loved”. The end. There’s no more to that sentence.

But… I’ll say more! Because, why not!? And because sometimes we need to explain this to people so they might actually believe you. In my list of things I have learned or hold as important, I wrote this in a couple ways. I listed that all people want to be seen and known and loved. And I think while this less

on could be that “I am loved”, the reality is, it’s a value I hold to have ALL people know, believe and trust that they too are loved.

I am forgetting if I talked about this already, but in my work with youth I give them a metaphor for self talk. Radio’s have different frequencies - AM and FM. And if we think of our inner voice as a frequency, we want to tune to FM meaning, “For Me” radio, and not listen to AM meaning, “Against Me” radio. Sometimes our inner voice is turned to AM and it tells us we’re not good enough, or that if people really knew us, they wouldn’t like us or love us in the way they think they do. AM radio is the voice that comes from shame, doubt, anxiety, and more. FM radio is the invitation to tune to the frequency of the Divine (this is a new wording I came up with for myself last winter). FM radio is the voice of grace, understanding and forgiveness. It’s the voice of empowerment, encouragement, grit and power. It tells us that we can do hard things. It tells us to be gentle with ourselves. It tells us we are worthy. It tells us we are enough, just as we are.

So… to even be willing to hear that you are loved, you will have to be tuned to FM radio so that you can hear it, and I mean really hear it and take it in as truth.

Now, you might be reading this and maybe we don’t even know each other. That’s likely not true because I don’t think my readership is that wide right now! haha! But… maybe we don’t know each other, or maybe we don’t know each other super well. You might think, “how would you know that I am loved?” and believe me, I just do.

I believe, in more core, that everyone has purpose, value and a gift to bring to this world. And we’re all just finding our way. We’re all just doing the best we can. And we’re all bound by this human connection. I am struck by the ways we often are so busy that we can’t really see each other, or the noise of life is so big, we get caught up in the surface stuff. That “noise” is also from that AM radio, I think. It is a distraction! I get it. I can get easily distracted too.

Last weekend I was leading a retreat with high school students through the church and part of what we talked about was our roots of faith, our core values and then how we grow and spread our branches out into the world. One of the things I deeply reflected on was the way our church community (elders, friends, pastors or just the community at large), has often called me “home”. At times, if I’ve gotten too distracted by the busyness or I am too tuned into that AM voice, I have been called back again and again to the FM radio, to the frequency of the Divine. To that reminder that I am loved, just as I am. I am worthy of love, just as I am.

Recently I was emailing with a colleague and mentor-friend. We haven’t seen each other in years, but we have great respect for each other. And in their latest email to me, she closed by copying and pasting the quote I have in my email signature and gifted it right back to me. She said:

“And I hope you know deep within your bones, this is true about you: You are a child of God. Wonderfully made, dearly loved, precious in God’s sight. Before God made you, God knew you. There is no one else like you.”

WOW! It touched my soul. She took maybe 1 minute of her time in a quick email exchange about work and whatever, to also gift me a beautiful reminder! It was and is always one, I need to remind myself of.

So… this is me, reminding you, YOU ARE LOVED! You are worthy! You are a gift! And as my friend said, “I hope you know deep within your bones, this is true about you: You are a child of God. Wonderfully made, dearly loved, precious in God’s sight. Before God made you, God knew you. There is no one else like you”.”

INVITATION:

I invite you to take 1 minute and think of 1 - 3 people you could quickly send a text or email to to remind them that they are valued, appreciated, known, seen and loved!

SONGS:

You Are Loved by Stars Go Dim - this is SUCH a beautiful reminder to know that you are always loved and you don’t have to prove yourself to anyone.

Known by Tauren Wells - I love this song so much because it speaks to the reminder that we all want to just be known and loved at our core.

Click HERE for the full playlist for the 40 days, 40 things blog

REFLECTION:

• When you hear “you are loved” - what happens in your heart? can you take it in? or do you struggle to trust that?

• Who or what helps you tune into your FM (for me) radio?

• What are 3 things you love about yourself?