The Power of Love: Birthday Reflections!

Psalm 31:7 states, "I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction, and knew the anguish of my soul.  This scripture is the song of my heart today.  Today is my birthday and it is a joyous one!  I can rejoice today because God loves me and finally I can be confident in that!  I can rest in the love of God; and, because I know His love, I have learned how to truly love myself.

When you learn to love yourself, you know your self-worth and you refuse to allow other people to devalue you.  You also learn to make room in your life for people who truly love and care for you.  You stop allowing yourself to be taken advantage of and you refuse to settle for less than God has for you!

God loves me and I'm glad about it!  I've experienced much pain and suffering in my life, but the Lord saw me.  The Lord saw my affliction and knew the anguish  of my soul.  He's held me.  He's comforted me.  He has delivered my soul out of the pit.  He has healed my heart and soul.

He has been there every step of the way.  He keeps blessing me over and over and over again.  He is the lover of my soul.  Even when I didn't feel Him there, He was there all the time!  As Jesus tells us in Matt. 28:20, "...[A]nd be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

So I say to you my dear friends: God loves you and cares for you.  If you have gone through great difficulty, He was there.  If you are going through a storm right now, He is there.  When you go through trials in the future, I promise you, He will be there!  He is faithful and I'm thankful for the 34 years He has given me!

I will end with a quote from Life of Pi, "Even when God seemed to have abandoned me, he was watching. Even when he seemed indifferent to my suffering, he was watching.  And when I was beyond all hope of saving, he gave me rest.  Then he gave me a sign to continue my journey."  Here's to 34 more years and long life: "With long life [He] will satisfy [me] and show [me His] salvation." Ps. 91:16

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