Love and Brokenness

I was reading an old journal entry of mine this morning. I was in a season of brokenness, having just been fired from a job and was embarking on a journey in what had become a wilderness experience for me. For those of you who find yourself in a similar place or have been in a similar place, maybe these reflections will help you to find comfort in the arms of a loving, Heavenly Father as I have amidst the pain and wondering and wandering.

Good morning Jesus, Thank you for loving me. I am beginning to understand Your love for me in new ways. You always love. You always love me, no matter what. It is a freeing thing to me to recognize more fully how much you love me and that I cant do anything to earn that love or lose that love You love me, always! The more I experience this personally, the more I will be able to reflect and be a conduit for You to love Liz, Keyton, Sierra and others through me. Doing in this case is much more submission to You, than an action of performance on my part. I was struck by the radio show this morning, A Word With You, which spoke of Stephen Kings acknowledgement that when we die, we die broken and naked I would add that we die with everything or nothing meaning we die with You or without You, Jesus. Discipline has everything to do with love it is how You tell us, you are mine, I love you. Discipline is a place of safety, a place of retreat away from the battle why else would we call it time-out? Discipline is the place where love can be proven to be unearnable and confirmed to be freely given. Discipline is a place where willfulness can be forsaken and security can be found; a place where damaged hearts are finally fully broken and with repentance the pain absorbed in forgiveness and the healing heart convalesces in accepting love. Strength is found in this rest, and rest is found in forgiveness, and forgiveness is found in love, and there is only One Source of forever love You, Jesus. Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace He is our Father and He loves us, no matter what we do, or dont do; no matter what we say or dont say His love is not affected by our actions or inactions and He proves this by the way He disciplines us. He does not leave us to our own accord, but puts His fingerprints on us and says, This one is mine, I will take out his heart of stone and put in him a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit in him and he will bear fruit according to what I have planted in him and he will bear witness that he is my son and I am his Father because he will know Me and that will be enough. Douglas P. Smith 2011