Beloved

"We are the Beloved. We are intimately loved long before our parents, teachers, spouses, children, and friends loved or wounded us. That's the truth of our lives. That's the truth spoken by the voice that says, "You are my Beloved." Listening to that voice with great inner attentiveness, I hear at my center words that say: "I have called you by name, from the very beginning. You are mine and I am yours. You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests. I have molded you in the depths of the earth and knitted you together in your mother's womb. I look at you with infinite tenderness and care for you with a care more intimate than that of a mother for her child. I have counted every hair on you head and guided you at every step. Wherever you go, I go with you, and wherever you rest, I keep watch. You belong to me. I am your father, your mother, your brother, your sister, your lover, and your spouse. Nothing will ever separate us. "You are my Beloved, on you my favor rests." It certainly is not easy to hear that voice in a world filled with voices that shout: 'You are no good, you are ugly; you are worthless; you are despicable, you are nobody- unless you can demonstrate the opposite." Self-rejection is the greatest enemy of the spiritual life because it contradicts the sacred voice that calls us the "Beloved." Being the Beloved expresses the core truth of our existence." Henri J.M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved, pgs.31,36,37

Why is this so hard to believe? I just love this book and highly recommend it! The core truth! If only we can remember this truth when life throws us such curve balls constantly.