First...

In order to love God, we must love other people. Before we can love other people, we must love ourselves. Because I made so many poor decisions in the past, it was difficult for me to see my value. I carried around the shame and guilt that came along with being an unwed mother and the enemy tried very hard to convince me that I had made too many mistakes. God showed me otherwise. As long as I am breathing, I can choose to do things the right way. No sin is beyond forgiveness. In my opinion, too many young ladies settle for less than the best because they don't realize their self-worth. If we knew how valuable we are and how much God loves us, we would not allow ourselves to put up with some of the things we deal with in relationships. This goes for men and women alike. Discovering our value is the first step to self love. Then we will eventually be able to love other people. I'm not talking about the people who are nice to us and love us back...I'm talking about our enemies. The ones who may hate us and want to cause us the heartache and pain. When we can reach love at this level, we can take full of advantage of loving God and the love He has for us. It's no easy feat to love EVERYONE as you would love yourself, but accomplishing this task is one of the most liberating experiences ever. You're able to let things go and not allow yourself to get stressed out over foolishness...you're able to forgive and move on...you're able to open your heart to the ones who may need you...and most importantly...you're able to have an intimate relationship with the one who created you. What can be better than that?!