“We need to learn that we are loved just the way we are.”
“I’m reading “Tattoos on the Heart” by Gregory Boyle It is the stories of gang members who escape from gangs and turn around their lives and decided to make their life what they wanted for themselves. That really inspires me, and how people overcome difficult situations.
I think of the hard times that I may have had in my life and compare that to other people who have gone through more drastic hardships and are able to find hope. I think we spent too long concerned about what is wrong with us instead of accepting what is. Why do we have this ideal that there is some kind of perfection out there. We need to learn that we are loved just the way we are. My faith in God really is what drives me forward. Jesus said you are the light of the world, not when you are better, or when you get your life together but now. That is encouraging to me. I seek out that light in other people and myself. I don’t think you can really love other people until you know how to love yourself.
I have a stuffed animal back in my parent’s home in Indiana called Grover. That’s the blue creature Muppet from Sesame Street. I got it when I was three years old and I carried it everywhere with me. We move around Europe and back to the states when I was a kid. It was always peeking out of my backpack and now years later it is still there but worn in places. It’s fur has rubbed off and that’s because I loved on it so much.
It was a companion to me. It was an inspiration to me and a friend.”