{"id":1507,"date":"2017-03-24T18:35:43","date_gmt":"2017-03-24T23:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/?p=1507"},"modified":"2019-05-17T15:13:24","modified_gmt":"2019-05-17T20:13:24","slug":"are-you-my-answer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/belovedlove.org\/reflections\/2017\/03\/24\/are-you-my-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You My Answer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Little<\/a><\/p>\n

by Lydia Floren<\/p>\n

Are You My<\/i> Mother?<\/i><\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/i>is a classic children\u2019s story about a little bird who\u00a0broke out of his shell and found himself alone in his nest. Somehow, he knew he had a mother and that he needed her, even though she wasn\u2019t there. So, he hopped down from his perch and started looking for her. Each time he spied a potential candidate (animal or object), he would ask, \u201cAre you my mother?\u201d \u00a0 And each time, he got the same response, \u201cNo, I am not your mother.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The baby bird continued searching until he finally encountered his mom.\u00a0 Curiously, he didn\u2019t ask her, \u201cAre you my mother?\u201d, \u00a0because when he saw her, he immediately recognized her.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know who you are,\u201d said the baby bird.\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are not a kitten or a hen or a dog. You are not a cow or a Snort\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

\u201cYou are a bird, and you are my mother!\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

We can often wander around in our lives in search of someone or something, to take care of our deepest needs.<\/h3>\n

We don\u2019t use words, but like that little bird, we do ask the same question over and over again, \u201cAre you my answer?\u201d, \u00a0or in other words, \u201cWill you be the person or thing that will fill that big hole in my heart?\u201d<\/p>\n

For example, we can do this when we rely on attention or accomplishments to bolster our self-esteem. Or when we focus more on what we can get out of a relationship than what we can give.\u00a0 \u201cAre you my answer?\u201d, we query. \u201cWill you give me the sense of significance, the feeling of belonging I so crave?\u201d<\/p>\n

But no person, or thing, is able to satisfy our deep hunger for unconditional love. Only God-Who-Is-Love can do this.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you my answer?\u201d<\/p>\n

When we ask God, His response is always the same:<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, dear Child, I am your answer.\u00a0 Come. Lay down your burden of shame and self-contempt. Stop trying to fix yourself.\u00a0 Rest in this truth: you are completely known and fully loved by Me. God. You are so precious to me that I chose to die for you. Nothing you do – past present or future – will ever change my love for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When we truly encounter God\u2019s love, when we allow it to seep into the core of our being, we don\u2019t need to ask. We know. He, the God-Who-Is-Love, is our answer – is The Answer – to our deepest need.<\/p>\n

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. \u00a0 Ephesians 3:17-19<\/i><\/p>\n

\"Huge<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Lydia Floren Are You My Mother?\u00a0is a classic children\u2019s story about a little bird who\u00a0broke out of his shell and found himself alone in his nest. Somehow, he knew he had a mother and that he needed her, even though she wasn\u2019t there. 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