This is week 2 in the series about our 5 Emotional Needs. The goal for the series is to look at each of these needs and find out what it looks like to fulfill them with an Empowering perspective and what it looks like when we fulfill them with a Limiting Belief perspective.
We are starting out with the need for Unconditional Love.
When you hear those words – unconditional love – what emotions run through your veins?
Comfort?
Safety?
Peace?
Bitterness?
Anger?
We have all had our own journey with love and so we are all going to have our own feelings about it, but what we have in common is that we are all wired to be loving human beings and to feel love is imperative to our growth – physically, mentally, and emotionally.
When God made us, you, me, each of us, His made in His perfect image. In Psalm 139 it says that God created my inmost being, that He knit me together in my mother’s womb, that I am wonderfully made.
God made us just like He wanted us to be – with our individual quirks and all. He loves us without any conditions whatsoever.
That can be a tough truth to believe if you have been rejected time after time in your life.
We remember all the people who left us, for whatever reasons, and then convince ourselves that they left because we are not lovable. That is the Limiting Belief – that you are unlovable.
Here is what happens – there is an event, let’s say someone breaks up with you, you will spend time finding the meaning behind them leaving you. From a Limiting Belief perspective, you will tell yourself it is because you are unlovable.
Once you have established a meaning, you will seek out evidence to prove yourself right. Because we all know that we love to be right…am I right?!
It becomes this vicious cycle of negative self-talk -> finding evidence to support the lie -> using that as proof to believe the lie even more.
Listen to the truth.
The truth is YOU ARE LOVABLE!
And the one who loves you unconditionally is God.
God loves us regardless of what we look like or sound like, regardless of what we do or don’t do.
But it doesn’t stop there!
God provides the fulfillment of the need, but He also puts us into society to allow us have community with one another.
We have all been around people who do not love themselves and the vibe they send out is BLAHHHHH! It is hard to show someone love who comes off combative.
But I do not want to shift the focus on to other’s behaviors.
I want us to focus on ourselves. How do we love ourselves so that we don’t put out that vibe and other people can show love to us and we can start finding the proof that we are lovable?
Just this week, I was reminded of a quote from Mary Ann Williamson from her book A Return to Love that says – “Nothing you have ever done or ever will do, will mar your perfection in the eyes of God. You are deserving in His eyes because of who you are, not because of what you do.”
That is the key to understanding unconditional love from God.
He loves us for WHO we are not what we do. When we accept that and become in love with ourselves, our actions follow that, our actions follow our beliefs.
We become a loving person who then receives love back!
It is a beautiful thing!!
Here are the steps for having an empowering belief around unconditional love:
- Know that God loves you unconditionally
- Allow yourself to love yourself
- Put out love out into the world
My challenge to you this week is to find ways that God shows you He loves you and accept His unconditional love.
Then start loving on yourself! Keep reminding yourself why you love yourself so much, so that then you can put out into the world that love, because it will come back to you!!
<>< KC