For love was poured out into my heart...

May I start with a great big thank you? Your response to my last post humbled me. It gives me hope and strength knowing that I'm not the only one feeling these emotions and battling these insecurities.

Please know that I'm praying for every one of you who reached out via email, social media or by leaving a comment, because together with God's help, we can transform our lives into something beautiful and filled with purpose.

And because God is the reader of our hearts and minds, He's been working on my heart this weekend during a church conference in Nebraska. Each church service was so incredibly blessed, because the presence of God could truly be felt - like every bone in my body seemed to melt, my hands shook and my heart was so humbled, soothed and encouraged, I left a bit more encouraged and filled with so much hope.

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. //Romans 5:5

This verse was read at one of the services this weekend and it's been haunting my mind since. I love the promise it holds and the phrasing is like balm on an open wound.

The love of God has been poured out in our hearts....Lately, I've been praying about Godly love for myself and the people in my life. I have human love for my family and friends, but it's not the unconditional love that Jesus bestowed on the people while He was on this Earth.

You know the kind... 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 kind of love - long-suffering and kind; a love that does not envy, parade itself or behave rudely; a love that does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil and rejoices in truth, not iniquity; this love bears, believes, hopes and endures all things; and above all, it never fails - even when everything vanishes away - love remains.

It's not a romantic love, but a deeply rooted, Christ-like love for yourself, your friends and even your enemies and strangers passing by. And I've learned this kind of love can't be achieved by human methods or ambitions, because it's a love from above. So I've been asking God for it - over and over again.

And His reply astounded me - it's already there. It's been poured out in my heart - generously and in abundance; it's the Holy Spirit, and all I have to do is let go of me and let Him live out my life.

I don't need to force it or learn it somehow, I just have to love. I need to open my heart and let it pour out into the lives of the people I see and speak to every day. It's as simple as seeing someone and thinking....

"God loves this person so much, He sent His only beloved son to die on the cross for him/her. And because His love has been poured out into my heart, I also love this person so much that his/her struggles and dreams are my struggles and dreams. I am in this moment to bless this person by helping him/her carry life's burdens and share his/her happiness."

And you know what? This hope, this love, it doesn't disappoint, because it has been poured out from above.

Have a blessed Monday, lovelies and let the love pour into every nook and cranny of your life.

-Yelena