Today’s topic was chosen before I read Caralyn’s post today.
After seeing what she shared yesterday,
I decided I cannot say anything on this topic
that would be more meaningful
than what she wrote.
So, I am reposting her message for you here.

It can be found in its entirety at
https://beautybeyondbones.com/2021/08/26/love-is-not-a-rescue-mission/#comment-148217
THANK YOU, CARALYN

Love Sets You Free

Posted on August 26, 2021 by beautybeyondbones

One of the most special things in my life, is the fact that my best friend since literally birth, is my neighbor in NYC.

Truly. Neighbors. Our buildings are 157 steps apart, and I couldn’t be luckier to have my true blue — someone who has been with me through thick and thin, the most supportive, loving friend right there — it is one of my life’s greatest blessings.

Anywho – I was over at her apartment last weekend for a movie night. We ordered Chinese food, drank wine, it was truly like we were a scene out of Friends.

We watched The Last Five Years. A very obscure movie musical that, truly, only the “buffiest” of musical theater buffs know about.

But anyway — there was a line in the movie that literally made me stop and say…WOW.

Has that ever happened to you? Like something is just such a truth bomb that it literally stops you in your tracks?

Before I get to the big one liner, a little background about the movie: it’s about a couple’s marriage that falls apart. How uplifting, right?

But it’s scenes from when they first met, all the way through when the man leaves her, told in an alternating fashion from their different perspectives, him: starting from beginning to the end, her: from the end to the beginning….if that makes any sense at all.

But there was a line in his note to her, telling her that he was leaving…and he said, “I could never rescue you.”

And, I mean – wow, not only did that hit like a sack of bricks to the heart, but when I heard, I immediately thought – truer words have never been spoken.

This — this is exactly why I was single for so dang long. This is exactly why only now, have I embraced and welcomed love into my life: because I was not in a whole state, where I could bring someone into my life.

I was not yet at a place where I could welcome someone into my life as a woman who loved herself, had forgiven herself from the anorexia in her past, and freed herself from that shame.

And now — sitting here in an amazing relationship with an incredible man, I can easily say that the most beautiful thing in life, is to love and be loved in return. For so long, I feared doing just that, keeping people at arms length, not opening my heart, because I believed that my past made me unworthy of love. But friends, that is the biggest lie and bunch of malarkey that was keeping me from living fully alive. And though that makes me so sad to think about the abundant life I missed out on, I know that God was in control all along, and allowing things to unfold and bloom in the perfect timing.

Recovery is a long and winding road, and long after you put the weight on, you still wrestle with that inner voice shouting that you’re you’re not enough, you’re too broken, you’re unlovable and full of shame. I thank God everyday for drowning out those lies with His truth. Because that is the only way I fully healed: Him.
.
The fact is: no one can rescue you. No one can love you enough to get better. No one can do it for you, or want it for you: You have have rescue yourself. Or rather — you and Jesus – together – have to rescue yourself. But you can’t expect your partner to save you: that’s not fair to them, not fair to you. And that’s why it took me so long to get to the beautiful place I’m in today: because I had to do the work. I had to go through that long, arduous, and difficult process of believing that I was worth loving.

And the crazy thing is: it turns out that LOVE reaffirms all the healing truths God was whispering to me all along: truths that I was precious in His sight, that I was forgiven, that my life has value, but more than that: I was loved beyond my wildest dreams.

Love is truly the last step to a full recovery. It is the key that unlocks the freedom to live fully alive — the life of abundance that God created us for.

And it makes sense too, because God is love. And His love sets us free.

And, now – living in that freedom, I can safely say it is the most beautiful thing in the world. And dare I say, what we were created for.

So — The Last Five Years — just goes to show that God can speak to you even in the most obscure ways: reminding us of His love, and the beautiful journey He’s brought us through, and helped us overcome.

Maybe this is super cheesy, and yeah, it probably is. 😉 But reflecting on all this, just makes me feel super grateful for this man who makes my heart feel safe, seen and loved. I might not need rescuing, but it is a beautiful thing to have a partner who loves and supports you just the way you are.

What’s a movie quote or song lyric that has stuck with you?

“This is what the Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life.” Ez 37:5

So, since Caralyn has reminded us that
“Life is vulnerability,”
and
“Love is truly the last step to a full recovery,”
help me embrace these bruises
and love the changing colors, ok??
Love your troubles away!
Are they on their way to full recovery?

EMBRACE LOVE

I dressed in yellow
to match the yellow hew
of the bruises yesterday
(I’ve always loved the cheerfulness of yellow)
and
by this morning,
the yellow is accentuated…
maybe chartreuse
is the color for this
beautiful, sunny, blue-sky
Saturday.
ADD A LITTLE GREEN AND BLUE TO THE YELLOW.

Don’t you love it?

Caralyn wrote, “it is a beautiful thing to have a partner who loves and supports you just the way you are.”

And I couldn’t agree more. I am certainly grateful for my partner of nearly 60 years who told me I was looking better this morning! Oh my… better than what? Love me just the way I am??

I LOVE YOUR VISIT
AND YOUR COMMENTS.

Thanks for sharing some loving thoughts.

See ya tomorrow (God willing)
Hugs,
JanBeek