I wasn’t going to write this, until I decided that I was. I felt that familiar tug on my heart that grew and became persistently more insistent, whispering in my head and in my dreams, until here I am, chugging coffee in my cookie monster jammies, hair all willy nilly, writing down my thoughts on love in my own little Love Letter of sorts.

Don’t you dare laugh. I agree that it may be comical. I am after all writing all about love, and for some of you that may seem somewhat ironic. But hear me out.

Those of you that know me, know that my history in the love department will never be a bestselling novel, (at least not yet) or romanticized in any way. Though Lord knows I tried. I tried to twist my broken story all around to find beauty in it, but all that did was make me sad. My heart was stomped upon on more than one occasion, and it took some real work to heal it. In fact, healing has been a process that I am still in, a work of changing thought patterns and learning to be loved. Before now, if you had to describe my love life in one word, that word would possibly be unreal. And definitely not unreal in a good way. Unreal as in totally not true.

But yet, I have found love beyond my wildest dreams. A love that awakens me, inspires me and definitely wants the best for me. I am still adjusting to this love, and sometimes I even second guess my worthiness, but my love reminds me daily how phenomenal he thinks I am. How important. How beautiful and smart and funny I am. He looks at me as if I am truly a masterpiece, and makes me feel as if I am. We all should cherish a love like this, and I absolutely believe that this love is meant for everyone. Even me, the one who had to learn to accept it. The key is in the hands of the one who knows where to look, and I had to go on quite a journey to find this key, only to discover that it had been right in front of my face my entire life. I had to learn the hard way, and I am happy now that I did. Victory is sweeter when you win a hard fought battle, and love is cherished more when you have won a war to get there.

This past week, I have heard on two separate occasions, two separate love stories, from two separate widows. As I listened intently, eager to embark on an adventure in my mind of hopeful, never ending love with these two beautiful ladies, I couldn’t help but wonder why they both decided to share their stories with me. If you know me, you know that I don’t believe in coincidences. To me there is no such thing. Moments happen for a reason, and if you don’t pay attention, you might miss their significance.

So I paid attention, and I would be a big fibber if I said that I wasn’t moved to tears. I cried as I heard stories of struggles and pain, but mostly of bravery and commitment. Love that defeated the enemy, that was built on trust and hope, that surpassed anything that I had ever experienced. My co-workers teased me a little as someone handed me a tissue, and I smiled through my smeared mascara, because my heart was on fire with tales of true love.

You see, I’m the girl who loves to love, but who never loved herself enough to really allow herself to be loved. Chances are you know someone like me. Chances are you are someone like me. These ladies had stories of love that I could only imagine, that I had read about, or watched on the big screen, but that up until recently had never thought were real. Not for me. My love life was unreal.

Then one of them spoke of love letters, and something in my heart just clicked. I felt a pull, a tug of love, a message that revolved around letters of love. Words of commitment, devotion and hope. There was a message here and my heart longed to hear it. So I listened. I have been listening especially hard all this month, to something meant for me, that is also meant for you. A message of love, of words. A beautiful Love Letter.

So if you are older like me, you may remember the magic of written words, perhaps in a folded note exchanged between classes back in the day, or even in a letter that you received in the mail. The opening, the unfolding, the eager anticipation of reading words from somebody important to you, that expectant joy, and the smiles that reading those words from another human could bring. Sometimes even words that made you daydream all day, made you smile a little bigger, and if you are a goof like me, words that maybe made you want to jump up and down in excitement. Even now, there is power in a simple text, in a message of good morning or good night, in words typed out, meant just for you.

Do you know that feeling you get when you get a notification from somebody that makes your heart beat a little faster? Maybe like me, you get a silly grin on your face? You get a rush of happiness? That feeling that is hard to put into words but yet is created just from reading words? Maybe its a rush of endorphins. Maybe its feelings of love. Maybe its just plain old happiness, though happiness is never plain. Have you ever noticed how happiness makes somebody more attractive? If you haven’t then maybe you should start noticing, because chances are you may need a little more happiness of your own, but that is a story for another day..

Back to the point, I am sure everyone reading this knows the power that words have over our hearts when they are spoken by somebody we like or love, or better yet somebody who likes and loves us back. Especially words of love. Close your eyes and imagine a time when you read something from somebody that made your heart skip a beat in a good way, that made you walk around smiling all day. Can you remember that feeling? There is such power in words of love. There is power in a Love Letter.

Do you know the greatest Love Letter of all time? The written words that have survived ages and have the power to tear down walls and defeat the ultimate enemy of love? Words written for all, but especially for YOU? Stories of hope and lessons and love and pursuit? Wars won by people like you and me? People who were considered ordinary but did extraordinary things powered by a love that is beyond imagining. I have experienced pain, and rejection, hurt and disappointment, and I bet you have too, but do you really understand that in this Love Letter I speak of there is a story of a man who dies for love? Who was beaten, mocked, and broken, all because of love? It is the greatest love story of all time and the most beautiful Love Letter ever written, words that give hope when we are hopeless because there is more to this life than the broken promises or heartaches of this world. I have read this Love Letter on more than one occasion, and every time I do I find words of power and words meant only for me. My heart is opening, and as it does the greatest love of all time has written his words upon my heart and my life. I get excited when he speaks to me, his messages make me jump for joy and I want to tell everybody I know about this love, and share it too, which is exactly how love is supposed to make you feel.

So this is my Love Letter to you. I want you to know that no matter what you have been told, or what you may believe, you are loved beyond measure and there is a Love Letter waiting for you. Pick up a Bible, open it up and open your heart. Find your love story in there, because it is your very own Love Letter.

I may never have a man in my life that cherishes me, or treasures me, protects me, builds me up and encourages me, and that’s absolutely okay. One day I might, especially now that I know what I am looking for. If I do he will be modeled after the greatest love of my life. But even if I never do, I am content and beyond happy with my God who does all of those things and more. He wraps me in love from the moment I open my eyes until the moment they close, and guards me while I sleep. He never hits me, never hurts me, never criticizes me. He never discourages me and never makes me cry. He lifts me up, opens doors for me, and shows me beautiful things. His gifts are more valuable than diamonds and he steals my heart on the daily, with a love message here or a beautiful sight there. My whole world revolves around him, and my only regret is that I wish it always had. Yet, though it took me forever to get here, he pursued me relentlessly, wooing me and catching my attention, picking me up from the brokenness of a life lived without him, rescuing me from a life filled with people who wanted to break me. For so long I thought I was alone, but now I know I was being protected all along.

I was loved. I am loved. I will always be loved.

And you know what?

So were you, so you are, and so you will be. Go ahead and go read your Love Letter today and see.

Love and peace,

Ray ~ Humblegirl

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For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭

Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13‬:‭4‬-‭7‬ ‭

We love because he first loved us.
‭‭1 John‬ ‭4‬:‭19‬ ‭

My lips will glorify you because your faithful love is better than life.
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭63‬:‭3‬ ‭

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭38‬-‭39‬ ‭