Loved Because We Exist

By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

MOST THURSDAY MORNINGS I head to my favorite local coffee shop, order a ginger-honey tea, and spend a couple of hours writing in the corner, tucked next to the plants and warm sunshine streaming in. One morning, a friend texted, “Got a minute? I need a pep talk from a friend.”

Of course, I do, I thought. Especially when a phone call with her interrupts a riveting blank page.

I listened as she told me how she was struggling with keeping up, how she couldn’t shake the thought that another woman at work was doing more, making more, and simply being more successful. She said she knew she was at her best when she wasn’t running around trying to outpace someone else, but holding back was a real struggle.

Whether we are career women, stay-at-home moms, single, married, divorced, widowed, dating, running a business, or working for one, we all struggle here. Because we are women. And women often get shoved under the pile of doing it all and never enough.

The wisdom from our conversation came from her prayer at the end, however: “God, help us to see ourselves as we see our sleeping children. With such love. Amen.”

Sleeping children are accomplishing absolutely nothing except sawing little logs. They are peaceful, resting, and being. They are the opposite of stressed, productive, and doing. And they are overwhelmingly loved in these moments. Because they are ours.

Isn’t that our story? Doesn’t God love us when we rest? When we aren’t striving? When we are doing nothing but sleeping? He loves us in our work, effort, and play, too, but we can rest knowing that our narrative is not earning-based. It’s existence-based. The story that God has written for us is of being loved because we exist. We are made by Him, and we are His.

We so often buy into the lie that we are only worth something when we have something to show. When my husband asks about my day, I usually list all the things I got done. I measure my day by my checklist. But God measures our day by our hearts. Did we trust Him with our fears? Did we stay at peace when things blew up around us? Did we run to Him or hide from Him? Did we enjoy Him?

At the end of the day, the truth is that you are worthy, loved, and delighted in simply because you are His. He is a good Father like that. Grace looks like measuring our worth by the great amount of love God has for us, sister, and by nothing else.

GRACE REFLECTION: Pray with me, “God, thank You for loving me as I am. Help me to measure my worth by Your love for me, not by my accomplishments or efforts. Amen.”