Falling in Love

"I am a horrible person."

The girl I had spent all day in small group with avoided my eyes as she spoke to me. The prayer ministry music in the background would have muffled a quieter voice, but hers was clear, direct, honest.

"Why do you think that?" I asked, gently.

"I have done so much crap to other people," she said, "and it's awful, but it's true."

Well, I thought, she may think she's horrible, but God has given her so much clarity in this moment. I've met full-grown adults who don't analyze their actions so deeply.

"First of all," I said, "you are not a horrible person. You are a person, who God created good, who has done something 'horrible'. Every person makes mistakes, and the fact that you recognize those mistakes for what they are, and that you're sorry for them--that's a gift."

The girl nodded, biting her lip. I noticed that at this point there were tears in her eyes, but she was refusing to let them fall yet.

I leaned closer to her, and said, "You know that God sees everything, right?" She nodded. "Okay," I continued, "then He has seen these bad things that you've done, you know?" She nodded again, looking ashamed.

Then I smiled at her, and I said, "And God still absolutely loves you."

The girl let her tears fall in that moment, and I knew then that she was sensing the love of God, maybe for the first time in her life. A girl who had been mostly quiet and kept to herself for much of the day was finally opening up to the One Who would never stop loving her.

I feel honored to be able to bring that message to these youth, particularly lately, as I have given a few talks on the sacrament of Confirmation. In the talks, I say that God is ready for us to fling wide the door of our hearts to Him to accept His grace and love.

I like to think of it this way: when two people begin dating, they don't just stop interacting. They talk. They hang out on a more personal level. They find out all of the little reasons to love each other even more. But falling in love with God, opening up to Him, is even better, because He already knows all of those reasons, and the biggest reason is that you are His child. There is nothing you can do to make Him love you any less, and there is nothing you can do to make Him love you any more than He does right now.

The girl in prayer ministry let me pray with her after her experience of God's love, and in that moment as we prayed together, I imagined her and I approaching the throne of God and me saying to her heavenly Father, "Here is your daughter. Let her know how loved she is by You."

And by the looks of things, He certainly did.

Peace and love,

Samantha Wigglesworth (Encounter 2)