I asked God what He wanted me to say in this post and....

He told me very clearly, "Tell them I love them" .  The words were so loud in my spirit and so packed with emotion that tears filled my eyes. So, here is my human, flawed, pathetic attempt to tell you something that I often struggle with myself.  How could God love someone like me?

My dearest child,

Don't you know that I loved you before you were even you? I formed you perfectly by my own hands, adding this part of your personality, this particular quirk, this smile, the way you laugh, how fast you can run, what you desire, your skills, talents, sense of humor, body shape, hair, the color of your eyes. I took each quality and formed them into you..uniquely, perfect you. Then I cradled you in my Fatherly arms and kissed your cheek before I placed you in your mother's womb.

Yet I didn't leave you there. I was present, along with my Holy angels, when you were born, when you breathed your first, I knelt over you and added my own breath to yours. I loved and watched over you as you grew, took your first steps, said your first word. I smiled at your antics, laughed at your silliness, and hovered over you like an adoring parent. I placed you in your family at a specific time in history, in a specific place, for a purpose that I had designed for you from the beginning of time.

Yes, you are special. You may not have had the best family. Your childhood may have been full of struggles, but through each one and in every situation, I was always there, loving you, planning, nudging you in the right direction, and using those trials to form you and shape your character into the person you needed to be. This was for your own good, and for my purpose. Both are the same thing, for you will not find fulfillment or joy in this life aside from Me.

Child, precious child. Do you know how often I think of you? Like the Father of an only child, I hover over you, loving you, smiling at you, desiring the best for you in all circumstances. But we have an enemy, dear one. And he has relentlessly and often driven you away from me. He has flashed the sparkling trinkets of this world before your eyes and told you they will fulfill, they will bring you happiness, make you important, give you meaning. He is liar whose sole purpose is to destroy you.

There were times when you strayed from me, when you rejected my love, and sought after the things of this fallen world. Tears filled my eyes as I watched you leave, knowing the suffering you would endure, knowing the emptiness you would find at the end of the road. And the regrets that would haunt you the rest of your days.

But oh, when I first saw you in the distance returning to me, my heart leapt as it had never leapt before. Such joy!  I could hardly contain it. I flung open the gate and rushed toward you, taking you in my arms and kissing you over and over. We wept together for hours, you and I. You were finally home.

People in the world who don't know me think I'm a cruel God who demands adherence to a list of strict rules and who ordered the slaughter of thousands in the Old Testament.  There is so much they don't understand. My mercy and grace extends to the heavens. My love for mankind, ALL mankind has no bounds. If they would but seek me with all their heart, they would come to truly know that I am a Father with a Father's heart of unconditional love toward every one of my creations.

Dear one, don't you know that I sent my precious Son to die just for you? And He didn't just die, He was tortured beyond what any man could handle. He was rejected in every way possible, humiliated, spit upon, taunted, and finally crucified. Crucifixion is one of the most brutal forms of death, and yet as He hung there in agony, He could have stopped the entire thing, the pain and suffering with just one thought. Instead, my Son chose to think of you. And His love for you kept Him on that cross. Even when I was forced to turn my face away from Him and reject Him for the first time in all of eternity. You think it was the cross that killed Him? No. It was His broken heart.

Are you suffering in this life, precious child? I see it. I know every tear you shed, every heartache, every disappointment, every unfulfilled longing. I see every pain, every health problem, every fear and worry. I see the money problems, job issues, wayward children who break your heart. I see ALL. And I care more than you know. I cry with you, my child. I never ever ever will leave you. "Then why am I suffering," you may ask? "Can't you fix it, Father?"  The answer to that is far more complicated than you can imagine. The short answer is, yes, I can fix all things. Nothing is impossible with Me. You must always remember that. Always pray and lift your requests up to Me. And then believe that I will do what is best for you. Because that's what Fathers do.

Just remember that for the time being, you are living in enemy territory in a world of people who have been given the gift of free will and who have chosen the wrong side. These things affect my own precious children and cause great trouble for them. Yes, you will have trouble in this world, but you must always remember three things.

• I love you beyond measure
• I will never leave you
• I have overcome the world. 

Hang on, stand fast, cling to me for just a little while longer, dear child. This world is passing away and soon will be no more, and you and your loved ones will be with Me for all eternity where there will be no more tears, struggles, problems, heartache, hunger, or sickness. Only endless joy, love, peace, and incredible wonders your mind cannot even fathom.

I love you,
Your Father in Heaven