Does God love me?

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JosieN said:
That is interesting. I came to my beliefs the usual way. Through my parents teaching and example. My dad was a proud man but never to proud to get on his knees at night and pray. He preferred to stay at home but every Sunday he put on a suit and went to church so I knew it must be something important. My mom was Catholic also and every night we prayed the rosary together as a family. I had 4 brothers and 3 sisters.

I have no reason not to believe in God. My life is far from perfect my adult son has autism, my husband had an accident in 2012 and is a quadriplegic. I don’t blame God for these things. These things can happen to anyone. I pray to God everyday for a miracle for both of them. I say many prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His Heart is love. Praying makes me feel better inside and helps me be a better person. So I will continue to pray and believe and hope one day I will get to see my parents again in heaven after this life is over. I will thank them for their good example and for all their prayers.
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Amazing that your faith has not deserted you, JosieN.
 
Neoplatonist said:
What a strange and rare gift you’ve been given. Like a diamond that just keep getting harder and shinier under pressure.
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Thanks, My faith is stronger because I need God more now than ever before. I would rather deal with my problems with God at my side than deal with them alone.
 
JosieN said:
Thanks, My faith is stronger because I need God more now than ever before. I would rather deal with my problems with God at my side than deal with them alone.
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Do you *feel *He is there, or are you just hoping and trusting that He is there? Curious what that kind of “faith” is like.
 
I feel He is there, but not all the time. What I have noticed is that when I give in to hatred or anger or any temptation I am not in touch with Him as much, as sin separates us. I must use my will to reject those thoughts and when I give in to the temptation, like I did this morning when I used a swear word, I will say I am sorry right away. I am not a perfect human being but God understands this. If you pray or do good in this world it will draw you closer to Him. The saints know this and that is why they devoted their lives to Him. The rest of us just do our best to keep Him near in our hearts. I think that keeping Jesus near today is more difficult than ever because we are lost to sin as it is everywhere, and many things that are sinful are made out to be not a sin anymore. I believe in God’s guidance and patience and for those who truly seek Him, At least that is how I see it. I don’t mean to preach.
 
JosieN said:
I feel He is there, but not all the time. What I have noticed is that when I give in to hatred or anger or any temptation I am not in touch with Him as much, as sin separates us. I must use my will to reject those thoughts and when I give in to the temptation, like I did this morning when I used a swear word, I will say I am sorry right away. I am not a perfect human being but God understands this. If you pray or do good in this world it will draw you closer to Him. The saints know this and that is why they devoted their lives to Him. The rest of us just do our best to keep Him near in our hearts. I think that keeping Jesus near today is more difficult than ever because we are lost to sin as it is everywhere, and many things that are sinful are made out to be not a sin anymore. I believe in God’s guidance and patience and for those who truly seek Him, At least that is how I see it. I don’t mean to preach.
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I don’t mean to sound disparaging, just pursuing the inquiry. That sounds more like tuning into a radio station than relating to/with a person (Father, friend, spouse, pick your metaphor from the tradition). I feel like my friends and loved ones are still with me even when I forget their birthdays or anniversaries, or days when I am short-tempered or self-absorbed. Their willingness to reach further to connect with me at those times is part of what it means to feel loved. (It also seems central to the sense of there being some “other.”)
 
JosieN said:
I feel He is there, but not all the time. What I have noticed is that when I give in to hatred or anger or any temptation I am not in touch with Him as much, as sin separates us. I must use my will to reject those thoughts and when I give in to the temptation, like I did this morning when I used a swear word, I will say I am sorry right away. I am not a perfect human being but God understands this. If you pray or do good in this world it will draw you closer to Him. The saints know this and that is why they devoted their lives to Him. The rest of us just do our best to keep Him near in our hearts. I think that keeping Jesus near today is more difficult than ever because we are lost to sin as it is everywhere, and many things that are sinful are made out to be not a sin anymore. I believe in God’s guidance and patience and for those who truly seek Him, At least that is how I see it. I don’t mean to preach.
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Well said! 🙂
 
Neoplatonist said:
I don’t mean to sound disparaging, just pursuing the inquiry. That sounds more like tuning into a radio station than relating to/with a person (Father, friend, spouse, pick your metaphor from the tradition). I feel like my friends and loved ones are still with me even when I forget their birthdays or anniversaries, or days when I am short-tempered or self-absorbed. Their willingness to reach further to connect with me at those times is part of what it means to feel loved. (It also seems central to the sense of there being some “other.”)
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I am not sure what you mean. But I love my husband and children. But when they do something that hurts me it is more difficult for me to feel love for them. I don’t know why but that trust is lost. When they say they are sorry,all is forgiven. I did not stop loving them because of what they did or said, but something was lost between us until we communicated and all was forgiven.
 
JosieN said:
I am not sure what you mean. But I love my husband and children. But when they do something that hurts me it is more difficult for me to feel love for them. I don’t know why but that trust is lost. When they say they are sorry,all is forgiven. I did not stop loving them because of what they did or said, but something was lost between us until we communicated and all was forgiven.
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a.) Sure, but wouldn’t it be better if you had perfect love?

b.) More to the point, though:
if they ask you why they have upset you, and they do things they think will reconcile you to them, but you say nothing; how would/could they be expected to proceed?

c.) And MOST to the point:
you never call them on the things they’ve done? Are you never the one to step up and calm their anger or heal the hurt that made them lash out or withdraw?
 
With respect to the O.P, many wise and loving posters have responded to you.
Can only personally humbly suggest that you consider calling a halt to all your self-analysis and try to look outside yourself. If you reach out in love to others, - e.g the old, disabled, sick, dying, sad, and lonely etc etc. - God’s love will pour out in abundance to you.
 
Neoplatonist said:
a.) Sure, but wouldn’t it be better if you had perfect love?

b.) More to the point, though:
if they ask you why they have upset you, and they do things they think will reconcile you to them, but you say nothing; how would/could they be expected to proceed?

c.) And MOST to the point:
you never call them on the things they’ve done? Are you never the one to step up and calm their anger or heal the hurt that made them lash out or withdraw?
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It depends on why they hurt me. If it was for a selfish reason, why would I be the one to calm their anger? They would need to come to me or they would be selfish again and never understand right from wrong. I would never stay silent if they asked why they upset me, but if I thought they knew why and were just trying to seek forgiveness without really being sorry, it would be difficult to forgive. So much depends on the situation. What do you mean by perfect love? Who defines what perfect love is?
 
JosieN said:
It depends on why they hurt me. If it was for a selfish reason, why would I be the one to calm their anger? They would need to come to me or they would be selfish again and never understand right from wrong. I would never stay silent if they asked why they upset me, but if I thought they knew why and were just trying to seek forgiveness without really being sorry, it would be difficult to forgive. So much depends on the situation. What do you mean by perfect love? Who defines what perfect love is?
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Interesting points.

Maybe because you are their mother, and you realize at some point they are not figuring it out on their own. Maybe you at least say some variation of what you said here: “I think you know, etc…” And what if they never asked you to forgive them, but just asked you to tell them why you are upset and not speaking to them?

Do we not love our children even when they are being selfish? Would God not love us even more than we do our children? Would we stand by and let them keep spiraling in their selfishness or would we not intervene with words and actions to help point them onto a better path?
 
Neoplatonist said:
Interesting points.

Maybe because you are their mother, and you realize at some point they are not figuring it out on their own. Maybe you at least say some variation of what you said here: “I think you know, etc…” And what if they never asked you to forgive them, but just asked you to tell them why you are upset and not speaking to them?

Do we not love our children even when they are being selfish? Would God not love us even more than we do our children? Would we stand by and let them keep spiraling in their selfishness or would we not intervene with words and actions to help point them onto a better path?
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The way I see it is that God does love us even more than we do our children. He saw us spiraling in selfishness and did intervene, He sent His son to preach to us and put us on a better path. But some did not want to hear what He had to say. He was crucified and died. Jesus left the apostles to carry on His work and they wrote His words in the Bible. When I am not sure what I am doing wrong I read the Bible. His words are there and He is speaking to me.
 
Winterwolf00 said:
Sorry, I think I read something in your post that wasn’t there.
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In that case what is the **rational **basis of your belief in Humanism, Liberalism, a love of democracy and human rights, egalitarianism and happiness if we are freaks of nature which exist for no reason or purpose? In other words why not be realistic and accept the law of the jungle? 🙂
 
JosieN said:
The way I see it is that God does love us even more than we do our children. He saw us spiraling in selfishness and did intervene, He sent His son to preach to us and put us on a better path. But some did not want to hear what He had to say. He was crucified and died. Jesus left the apostles to carry on His work and they wrote His words in the Bible. When I am not sure what I am doing wrong I read the Bible. His words are there and He is speaking to me.
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But would you point your children to “The Big Book of Parenting” by JosieN when they were heartbroken or scared? Would/could that really comfort them anywhere near the same as your soothing voice?
 
tonyrey said:
In that case what is the **rational **basis of your belief in Humanism, Liberalism, a love of democracy and human rights, egalitarianism and happiness if we are freaks of nature which exist for no reason or purpose? In other words why not be realistic and accept the law of the jungle? 🙂
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What in the world makes you say that?
How are we ‘freaks of nature’ exactly?

By ‘law of the jungle’ I’m assuming you mean something akin to Social Darwinism or a society based on selfishness, which as any sociologist would tell would be extremely illogical as humans are a very empathic and social species.

I don’t understand why something being of nature means that one must act savage or barbaric, even wolves and chimps have been observed to care for one another when injured, and contrary to popular belief when a baby bird falls from the nest the first time and tries to fly the mother does NOT just let the chick fail, she catches them.

Because empathy and compassion are LOGICAL and they are highly advantageous evolutionary traits.

For more I’d suggest this article.
greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/morality_animals
 
Neoplatonist said:
But would you point your children to “The Big Book of Parenting” by JosieN when they were heartbroken or scared? Would/could that really comfort them anywhere near the same as your soothing voice?
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God is with us at all times. He listens to our cries. And I thank Him for that. If you cannot hear Him in your heart then maybe you need to do something else. I don’t know why you are this way, I only know it is not God’s fault. I prayed this morning that my sump pump which has not been running for the last 4 days because the pipe outside was frozen could easily be fixed. I thought the plumber was going to have to take it apart and be here all day trying to unthaw the pipe outside. My prayer was answered, The pump started and the water ran out down the pipe. It was not working last night. Just keep praying!
 
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