Guest post by Diane Samson on LOVE

Today's guest blogger is Diane Samson. She is a family-oriented woman with a passion for coffee and connection. Diane is skilled at connecting with people as she honestly, openly and very creatively shares her heart with the world through her website and blog. I believe in the power of a good story so today, I invited Diane to share one of her personal stories in devotional form. I hope you will enjoy reading it and will be encouraged by the message! 

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Can I Love When I’ve Been Hurt?
A guest post by Diane Samson

Only in love.
In my post, Work Less in Relationships, I wrote about my tendency to seek fulfillment in relationships, instead of God. When I make those choices, God is wooing me and calling me unto Himself, not once letting me go. But the fear keeps me in the cycle of condemnation. My failure in relationships or my perception, leads me to feel like a failure and I’m not good enough.

As I mentioned I am reading a book The Cure For The Perfect Life: 12 Steps to Stop Trying Harder and Start Living Braver. In chapter 6, “Love,” Kathi Lipp and Cheri Gregory write…

“Love is at the heart of Braver Living.”

It’s only in love we can find redemption.

It’s only in love that we can find freedom.

It’s only in love that we can be free from fear. “Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love.” (1 John 4:18 NLT)

When I am exhibiting signs of fear, I am not experiencing God’s love to the fullest. I am letting fear get in the way of God’s love for me.

When I experience fear in my relationships and in my inadequacies, my shortcomings keep getting in the way. I am holding back and not letting God give me all that He has to offer.

To turn on the light bulb, I need to move the switch. The power is enabled and I have full access to it. All I need to do is walk over to it, move my fingers and flip it on. But I can’t. My focus is on all the negative things that might happen if I walk over to the other side of the room. I’m not sure what I will encounter on the floor. On the walls. In the unknown.

But the light needs to go on. Otherwise I can’t see. I can’t take advantage of the light in the room provided for my well-being.

God’s love is for everyone.
God’s love is available for any of us. We often don’t take His love. Or we take bits and pieces of it. Instead of taking the light for ourselves, we take a part of it or the shadow of someone else’s light. We can take God’s love for ourselves. He has offered His love to us when He sent His son to die for us and has been offering it to us ever since.

I offer love to my child and package it on a silver platter. But she won’t take it. She is letting her fear of trusting me, past hurts and past baggage to get in the way. If she would put it behind her, she could receive my love, freely and fully.

God wants to give us His full, complete love. And His love is perfect! Without fail.

In my relationships, and any of us in the cycle of trying harder, and trying to be better, we can chose to fully experience God’s love.

We can love ourselves and love each other because of God’s Word. We are worth His love because He said so! You are worth His love because He says it in the Bible.

“For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will—to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us.” (Ephesians 1:4-8 NIV)

“In Him and through faith in Him we may approach God with freedom and confidence.” (Ephesians 4:12 NIV))

Confidence in Christ…in His perfect love.
We can proclaim confidence in Christ because He told us we could. We can approach relationships in confidence and freedom. There is no need for us to sneak away in shame. Shame is what the devil gives us and wants us to cling to. We have the privilege and right to claim God’s love for us. For. Me.

Beloved, dear one, move forward boldly and with confidence. Give up your fears and the control they have over you. Choose freedom, not bondage. Live today. In freedom. In His love. In His perfect love.

When I have been hurt, I feel bad. I feel the pain. I admit my feelings to God. I admit my anger. I admit it’s hard for me to trust. I admit I want to stay exactly where I am. Pray to God. Yell to Him. Cry it out to Him. Give it all to Him.

I have. Many times. The hurt isn’t exactly gone. The injustice has been committed. I’m still hurt. But I’m free now to move on. I don’t have to carry the hurt, especially alone.

And then I’m free to love again. Freely. Without strings. God gives me the peace to move on. I can then risk again, step out, and love. If I’m still holding onto all those past hurts, I am unable to love, as Jesus would want me to.

“Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:39 NIV)

Take His love and give it away.
Live a life of freedom today. Step out and choose to love today. Choose one act of living bravely today. Who can use your special touch of love today? Who can benefit from your love because Christ first loved you? Take it and give it away. Today. And then see what happens. Those past hurts don’t look so bad after all.

Yes, you can love if you’ve been hurt.

Make a comment to my posts for the next few weeks and I will add your name to a drawing to win The Cure for The Perfect Life. If you sign up for my newsletter and blog posts, I will add your name twice for every comment. In my September newsletter I will announce the end date. Make sure you sign up by August 31.

You can usually find me at my site, where I blog and share my journey at:
wings for your dreams

Visit my website: dianesamson.com

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Author Bio: 

Diane is the mom of two adult children and two teenage boys, one in high school and a newly college student. She is often called Nana to three grandchildren. She also manages her busy household with a world traveler pilot husband. While you can find her blogging in North Idaho, she enjoys her work at Open Arms Pregnancy Center, leading women in the Word of God and playing Mah Jongg. Diane is getting ready to publish articles and is starting a new writing endeavor. Join her for a cup of coffee and you have a friend for life!