The Humbling Truth... I am loved

I have for a long time not doubted my Father's love for me, for it is the most pure, and I have His word full of His promises. I need not to seek validation from any other source, because His love alone and who He is validates me. But yea, my flesh longs to be validated, seeks to measure up some how. What a fight. 

If there is one thing that I humbly saw in my last days in Peru and my first days back in the States, is that I am loved, not only by my awesome God, but by my sweet family and friends. Tears, hugs, letters, notes, phone calls, texts, emails, and simple presence of others has shown me, that truthfully if I ever doubted that others loved me, those doubts would be destroyed instantly by how much love was shown to me by those I left behind in Peru and by those who greeted me here in the States.

In fact, I wish that everyone could have the experience of having some time away to meet new people, have them love you, and leave them to come back to people who have missed you so that they can also express their love for you. I write this humbly, because I don't deserve it, but am so blessed by it. I know that I am loved, and that is a nice thing to know.

Now on that theme, there is a side note that for a long time I have wanted to spill out of my brain onto paper or onto this blog, but it hasn't made it there or here until now. There was one time in my life that I loved someone and he loved me, and though that was a phase in our lives and I hope God has healed him as He has me, but a comment was made to me during that phase of my life by one of my Peruvian friends. He said to me (translated of course), "There is nothing more beautiful than a woman who is in love. It is obvious when she is loved."

I have thought about that since then and have asked myself, if that is true.... why is it not obvious on my face or in my eyes (or whatever it was that my friend saw it), everyday, when I am loved so much and unconditionally by my Father it should be obvious in my face. It also should be obvious that I love Him..... but I fear that it often isn't, and that if love between frail and sinful people can show up on my face, I sure hope that the love that my Father has for me and my attempt to be in love with Him shows up on my face too.