Love isn't earned.

It cannot be.

I got my tail twisted in an anxious knot the other day, over a friendship that means a lot but isn't quite where I'd like to be.

"What if they don't like me? What if I'm not good enough? How can I change me to be what they want?"

The anxiety put a knot into my left shoulder, the one that always aches when I carry tension I'm not meant to carry. And the pain reminded me to take it to my Father, who knows me (and the other person!) much better than I can.

And there it was. The simple, profound thought. Love isn't earned. It cannot be.

I can't earn someone else's love. They choose to give it.

But neither can they earn mine. I choose to give it. (There's tremendous freedom in that.)

Love isn't earned. It cannot be. Love is a gift.

Photo from the beach on Thanksgiving, which was its own kind of gift. 🥰