Do not be frightened. There is so much you cannot control. And time is one of those things. Why is it you fret about the passing of days? I am in the midst of all time. And how I count the seconds of your life is not by what is or what is not accomplished. What are seconds to me? What is a day? What is a life? I am present in your heart. And where I am, there is no boundary.

What does it mean to see? What does it require of you?

Let go of what you thought it meant, and let Me show you. (Yes, do you now understand?) What I show you and you understand is what it means to see.

I knew she was there. I know where you are. Do you think I don’t see you and that I don’t care? Do you think I am numb to your pain? Your healing is what I am after. Your healing is why I came. I want all of you, all of your heart, all of your mind. I have created you whole, and I will make you whole again. I promise.

‘“Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace’” (Luke 8: 48).

I love it when I have your attention. And you are yourself when you have mine. It is yours, all my attention. Always. But do you see it? Do you know? For when you do not know, what good is it? If your heart is not your own, for its attention is elsewhere, how will you know what you do not know?

“And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations” (Ezekiel 36: 26-27, NLT).

How much do you rely upon me? How does your self-sufficiency get in the way? Shall we connect anew now? I restore all things. I make all things new.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2: 8-9).

You are my child, but you are not a child. You have come before the throne, and you are worthy to be here because I say so, because I have created you so. So stand, not with haughtiness but with assurance that your life shines with my glory because my love is in you. So stand. How will you stand?

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Peter 2:9-10).

How do you talk to yourself, my love? How do you know what you feel? How can you trust it? Can I lead you deeper in so you know?

“As the deer longs for streams of water,/ so I long for you, O God./ I thirst for God, the living God./ When can I go and stand before him?” (Psalm 42: 1-2, NLT)

What are you responsible for, and what are you not? Do you know? What are you doing with what I’ve given you? And are you carrying things I did not ask you to pick up?

It doesn’t take long to hear me. And when you hear Me, what are you focusing on? Can I teach you a way to let go of an old habit? Can we practice this together?

I want you to experience more of my love for you.

Why?

So you can live courageously and with joy.

“Joseph named his firstborn Manasseh and said, “‘It is because God has made me forget all my trouble and all my father’s household.” (Genesis 41:51).

When you look at yourself and consider your worth and value, what/whom do you see? If you see what I see and know what I know, you will respond–with your efforts–in a way that reflects your worth and nothing less.

It is simple here, here with me. It is just us two. My strength, your strength. My heart, your heart. You can drop all that you are holding so you can more completely hold onto me.

Hold onto me, and let me hold everything else. Isn’t that better? Me holding you and the whole world?

Come to Me. Stay with Me. Whom are you talking to throughout the day? For you are always talking to somebody. It could be yourself; it could be fear. It could be self-control talking. But let it be love. That is who always wants to talk to you–love. Guard your heart. Let all your conversations with yourself be reframed. Ask yourself: am I speaking with Love? Yes? No? To whom am I speaking? Draw in. Draw deeper. Be outside yourself–in the world and outside the world–as you are inside your heart, where I speak.

Quiet the noise inside you. Let me quiet you. I have sung to you all of your life. I have comforted you. I have held you. Together, we danced and laughed. For you are home, able to relax and breathe easily, in my presence.

Will you let me in right now? Will you let me hold you now? Will you let me love you? How easy you are to love.

Will you trust me in all areas of your life? Will you believe me–that I am good–in all moments? Will you believe I am steadfast and steady you in all circumstances–though you don’t know when, how, or how long?

God delivers–but the how and when of that delivery becomes the training grounds for our life. Will we trust Him? Do we believe He will do what He says even if it is not how we would plan for it to go?

You can be free–right now, because I have set you free. But do you believe it? Do you believe me? Will you take action towards this belief? For there is freedom for you from all the ways you are entrapped–when you step toward it, when you step toward me, now.

You are my dearest one. My love for you is without end.

Do you want me to make you new again? Do you want your old life with its old problems and old mistakes to remain? Or go away? Would you rather I show you a new way to look at your life, your job, your relationships, your past? It is all new, all possibilities ahead, you see.

Dear one, do not be afraid. Yet, you are afraid. You are afraid of so many things. Do you see how you hide from what you fear? Do you see how you try to protect yourself from what you think will hurt you? May I take the walls down, and will you step out? May I be your hiding place?

“Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” Matthew 16: 25-26

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters–yes, even their own life–such a person cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).

We were created by God, and so, from our very beginning, we were with God. Our life’s stories show how we depart from Him and return to the true story we’ve always known.