Meant to be Loved

"You are not an option, a choice or a soft place to land after a long battle.

You were meant to be the one.  If you can wrap yourself around the idea

that you are something incredible, then you will stop excusing behavior

that rapes your very soul.  You were never meant to teach someone 

to love you.  You were meant to be loved. "

Shannon L. Alder

If we observe a nonverbal toddler, it is disheartening to watch them experience numerous outbursts without substantial knowledge to comprehend the emotion being directed at them.  They perhaps gauge the situation by the tone of the voice or the expression on a face.  They are basically told what and how to feel.

As the child grows, he is introduced to situations differing from the immediate family.  He or she has minimal life experience and can grasp some level of situations.  Still, however, there are various situations imprinted on the adolescent mind that have no clarification.

As the child evolves into adulthood, life experiences are stacked together forming patterns.  He or she may assume all incoming data best describes the sense of self.  The child turned adult strives to fulfill expectations, not necessarily their own.   So when does it happen .... college, career, marriage ... that we ultimately realize the necessity of turning inward to honor who God intended us to be.