You don't have to earn love

It has been awhile...I'm so sorry! I really feel that I need to keep doing this blog, and it helps me too when I do! Time just fly's by and before I know it I haven't done it in forever. 

Something I have been learning lately is that you don't have to earn love. Much of my life I have tried to do just that. Either through the way I act, the way I look, or the things I accomplish. Most the time I feel like I am never good enough. Like I always miss the mark. This is so not true. Everybody is worthy of love, despite their imperfections, their struggles, their weaknesses, and mistakes. We are all imperfect. God loves us no matter. Of course, he wants us to make good choices because he knows that making good choices will make us happy, but we don't have to earn his love. He does not love you more when life is sailing by and you feel you are doing great than when you are just trying to keep your head above water. There is nothing you can do to make him love you more, he loves you perfectly, even though you are imperfect. In fact it was his idea that you be imperfect for a time. 

I am super duper hard on myself, and it's not helpful, at all. I am trying to work on being gentle with myself and others. Sometimes we just need to give ourselves some tender love and be patient. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we are in the hands of our loving, all knowing, all wise, all powerful Father in Heaven. TRUST HIM. If you are trying to earn his love, throw in the towel and embrace his love, because it's already there. Love heals. His love through his son Jesus Christ can heal you. 

"My dear sisters, your Heavenly Father loves you—each of you. That love never changes. It is not influenced by your appearance, by your possessions, or by the amount of money you have in your bank account. It is not changed by your talents and abilities. It is simply there. It is there for you when you are sad or happy, discouraged or hopeful. God’s love is there for you whether or not you feel you deserve love. It is simply always there."

Uplifting word's from Elder Holland: 

"Believe in miracles...Hope is never lost...If the bitter cup does not pass, drink it and be strong, trusting in happier days ahead....rest up, replenish, refill...Trust in God...Hold on in his love...Know that one day the dawn will break brightly and the shadows of mortality will flee.. Never forget you are in the hands of the divine potter...Live by faith, hold fast to hope..Disciples of Christ are to have compassion one of another."

"Like a Broken Vessel"

"I have absolute certain knowledge, perfect knowledge that God loves us. He is good. He is our father and he expects us to pray and trust and be believing and not give up and not panic and not retreat and not jump ship when something doesn't seem to be going just right. We stay in, we keep working, we keep believing, keep trusting, following that same path and we will live to fall in his arms and feel his embrace and hear him say "I told you it'd be okay, I told you it'd be alright"

"Tuning our hearts to the voice of the spirit CES devotional- Linda K. Burton"