The Prophet Isaiah, in our lesson from the Hebrew scriptures today, tells us that the Lord who created us says, "You are precious in my sight, . . . and I love you." That is true for each of us and all of us, no matter how many warts and blemishes we carry around. Do you realize that? Have you ever thought that you were precious to God?

Some years ago when I was going through a rough patch, I found that when I opened my journal each day and picked up my pen, what I heard was, "You are precious, and I love you." That went on every day for six months. The Beloved is patient with us, waiting for the reality to set in, for us to believe that it is true. In the beginning, maybe I was skeptical, but after six months, the daily message had made a road in my heart. I couldn't not believe it, trust it, know it. The Holy One had picked me up, brushed me off, set me on my feet, and opened a new way before me. The Beloved does whatever it takes to open the ears of our hearts to know the Love of God.

Take some time to sit with the passage: "You are precious and I love you." You might want to put your name in the phrase to help you realize the message has your name on it here and now. Let it soak into your being, feeling God's enfolding presence drawing you close. How does it feel? Try it again tomorrow. Try it every day for a week, for a month. Does it become real to you? Once we know how precious we are to God, we finally can come to love ourselves and one another as we are, with no strings attached. The Beloved's self-giving love can begin to pour through us out into the world.