"Our Truest Identity is Released When We Allow Ourselves to be Loved"

Behind the title: Father Mike Schmitz used these words in his podcast “The Catechism in a Year episode Day 30,” After I heard them, I couldn't get them off my mind. So much so, that I completely changed what I was going to write about today and followed the promptings of the Holy Spirit...here we go!

“Our truest identity is realized when we allow ourselves to be loved" ...why is this so hard to do sometimes? Fear of rejection, fear of being hurt, fear of not being enough, fear of the unknown. Fears that build up walls against feeling worthy. Fears that force self-protect and cause us to believe that we are too far gone for God to ever forgive us or that our sins are too great for Him to overcome when all He’s ever wanted to give us was His indescribable love and redemption.

The world teaches us that if someone truly understands us, they won't accept us, but God created us, He never denied us. The world promotes self-sufficiency, but God gives us free will and He never wants us to walk through life alone. The world offers many paths for us to consider, but God leads us to one. The world's ways seem easy, but God never promised easy, He promised forever. We just have to trust. If He brings us to it, He will bring us through it.

We sometimes spend a life time searching for our true identity. It can be difficult to understand who we are and what makes us unique and it doesn't help that there are countless theories telling us what we should believe. If we can trust in God and open ourselves up to be loved, we can begin to uncover who we really are and who we were created to be.

God IS love. (CCC 218-257)

Imagine if we all made the decision today to fully embrace God’s indescribable love for us.

We would see ourselves in a more positive light and gain the confidence to become more vulnerable and honest about our hopes, dreams, and fears. We would build closer relationships with those around us. We would learn how to accept and appreciate different perspectives and to listen to others without judgement. We would grow in our ability to empathize with others and become more compassionate and understanding towards them and they would follow. It is in giving that we receive. It is in loving that we love, and it is letting go, that we are held, hand in hand by the one who created us.

My prayer for you today is that you find those places amid your everyday moments where you can connect your eyes, your minds, your heart with the one God and be transformed in Him. Let Him in, let His love immerse in you and allow Him to show you who you are in His eyes.

Get ready, you’re about to realize just how truly incredible you really are!