The Story Behind the Name

At the core of every woman is the desire to be beautiful. At the core of every woman is the desire to be loved. So when the one person I had committed my heart to let me know I was neither, saying that I was crushed would be an understatement. My delicate, precious heart had been deeply burned, beyond repair. I had been cut wide open, left alone to pick up the pieces.

 And pick up the pieces I tried. Day after day I spent on my knees before the Lord, searching for acceptance, significance, love and release from the pain. I had never experienced such emotional agony, such betrayal. And it was then that a still, small whisper spoke softly to me, "You are beautiful, and dearly loved." It was so quiet at first, I wasn't sure I had heard it. But there it was. And as the days went by, the seasons changed and time moved on, it gently began patching up my heart. Never more than a whisper, that small and gentle voice breathed life once more into my being. For I knew that still, small voice. It was the one that calmed the sea when the disciples were sure they would drown, the one that promised life and freedom, the one that said "It is I, Jesus."

"You are beautiful, and dearly loved" is the truth of how God sees his children. Fully accepted, fully significant, and deeply, unfathomably loved.