Unconditional Love

Emma - Smiling

I’d always heard that major life changes, such as getting married or having children, allow you to experience aspects of God’s love that you hadn’t previously. When Ben and I got married, I found this to be true-I was able to see God as my lover and to experience that intimacy with Him now that I had a picture of it here on earth. When Emma was born, this phenomenon occurred again, yet much more drastically. Not only did I have a clearer view of God as my Daddy, I also experienced the power and reality of unconditional love.

There is no one in this world that I have ever loved unconditionally; my love for people has always developed over time. I fell in love with my husband over a four-year period and now love him unconditionally. My love for Julie, my best friend, evolved over time and is now unconditional. With Emma, it was completely different. From the moment she entered this world, my love for her was instantaneously unconditional, something I have never experienced before. She is completely helpless and dependent on Ben and me. There is absolutely nothing she has done or can do to earn my love, and yet it is hers. No matter how many hours of sleep I lose or how many diapers I have to change, it is hers. I can’t get enough of her! I desire to be with her all of the time-talking to her, teaching her, reading to her, comforting her, and just holding her. She is the first person who hasn’t had to “earn” my love over time. Because she’s my daughter, I love her unconditionally. Period.

As I realized this transformation in the way I love, it dawned on me that this is exactly the way God feels about me, His daughter. He can’t get enough of me! He desires to spend endless hours with me-talking to me, gazing at me, teaching me, and comforting me. There is nothing I have ever done or can do to earn His love; in fact, there are many things I have done that would give Him just cause to not love me, yet He loves me all the more. Because I have never loved someone unconditionally from the start of the relationship, I never grasped the fullness of being loved unconditionally by God. Only by Him blessing me with a daughter of my own did this reality become clear. And for that, I am so thankful.