Menu
  • Home
  • Daily Devotions
  • The Podcast
  • Meet (in)courage
    • About Us
    • Our History
    • Meet the Contributors
    • Meet the Staff
  • Bible Studies
  • Library
  • Shop
  • Guest Submissions
  • DaySpring
  • Mary & Martha
  • Privacy
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
(in)courage - Logo (in)courage

(in)courage

  • blog
  • By TopicTopics
  • Choose an AuthorAuthors
  • Aliza Latta
  • Anjuli Paschall
  • Anna E. Rendell
  • Barb Roose
  • Becky Keife
  • Bonnie Gray
  • Dawn Camp
  • Dorina Lazo Gilmore-Young
  • Michelle Ami Reyes
  • Grace P. Cho
  • Holley Gerth
  • (in)courage
  • Jami Nato
  • Jennifer Dukes Lee
  • Jennifer Schmidt
  • Kaitlyn Bouchillon
  • Karina Allen
  • Kathi Lipp
  • Kayla Craig
  • K.J. Ramsey
  • Kristen Strong
  • Lucretia Berry
  • Mary Carver
  • Melissa Zaldivar
  • Michele Cushatt
  • Rachel Marie Kang
  • Robin Dance
  • Simi John
  • Stephanie Bryant
  • Tasha Jun
  • Courage
  • Diversity
  • Encouragement
  • Friendship
Share
God's Love

The Greatest Love Note

by Katie Landers  •   Feb 26, 2016  •   17 Comments  •  
0
Shares
Download
Share

20160226-Landers-Imperfect

My kids and I love writing little notes to each other. We write on post-its, scraps of paper, even the backs of church bulletins, any paper we can find, just to give each other a little love and a smile.

It’s not uncommon to find these notes hidden in lunch boxes or under bedroom pillows for added surprise. We just love a good love note!

Our notes are nothing fancy. They simply state “I love you” or “You are awesome” accompanied by quick drawings or silly stickers.

These notes always give us a smile in the moment, but recently the words in a note I received from my eight-year-old daughter lasted longer than a moment. They went straight to my heart and claimed a place in my soul. Her note said: I love you for how you are. I love you because you are you.

Tears in my eyes and huge breath of relief. This little one loves me because I am me. Not because I drive her around to all her activities or help her with her homework. Not because I am the picture perfect mom of magazines or advertisements. No, she loves me because I am her mom. And that is enough.

How often do we think we have to measure up to some super-high standard of perfection to be loved?

On most days, I run late to work, there is no clean laundry, and I lose my patience more than I’d like to admit. I spend time wishing I were that super-cool relaxed mom who doesn’t fret over the minors — but guess what? I’m not that perfect woman, and I’m finding out no one needs me to be her anyway.

I’m the only one who thinks I have to be perfect, never mess up, or lose my cool. I’m the only one that places all these unmet expectations onto myself.

I know the love notes won’t last forever. The kids will grow up and grow busier. There will come a day when my daughter is upset at me, and I will again start measuring myself up to my own impossible standards. And when that happens, I’ll need the reminder that measuring up to impossible standards will never make me any more loved — because I am already much loved.

Christ, in all His lavish ways, will always love me for me.

He always has and always will love me just as I am. Nothing I can ever do and no impossible standard will ever keep Him from loving me any less.

That is why I need love notes. I need notes to remind me of the greatest love note ever written — the one that says over and over again, I have loved you with an everlasting love. {Jeremiah 31:3, NIV}

All Christ wants us to remember is Him forever loving us. Let that truth go right to your soul and let it stay there.

No matter how imperfect we feel, His love is there, waiting for us to remember, whispering to us to remember, I will always love you.

Just as you are.

Forever.

[linebreak]

Share on Twitter:

No matter how imperfect we feel, Jesus is always whispering, “I love you. Just as you are.” {Tweet This!}

Leave a Comment
Download
Subscribe to daily words
of courage & hope.
Thank You

Your first email is on the way.

* PLEASE ENTER A VALID EMAIL ADDRESS

Primary Sidebar

Sorry, there was a problem.

Twitter returned the following error message:

To protect our users from spam and other malicious activity, this account is temporarily locked. Please log in to https://twitter.com to unlock your account.