loved for who you are

Harmony when she was a baby:)

I was teaching my K1 & K2 kids to dribble a ball when suddenly a girl came and hugged me on my legs. My legs because I was standing and she is shorter than me:)
"Miss Jacqueline I love you", said the little one.
"Love me? Are you sure?"...This were really the thoughts that went through my head when she said that. I would have believed it if it came from someone else. She was someone I lecture the most. Someone I have difficulty getting things done. When asked to do A, she'll tell me she wants to do B.
But when she said that, it just soften my heart. I became less 'harsh' to her:) I began to see her from a different perspective.
That's when I realised, how natural it is for me to have form preconceived ideas that she'll not like me for all the correction I've given her. Honestly, her misbehavior do irritates me but I have to correct her. By me constantly doing that, and thinking that she'll not like me for it, I set a wall between us and it stops me from believing I am still loved despite it and because of that I failed to love. But now that she tells me she loves me, a new love for her just grows on me simply because I know i'm loved.
That's when the Lord showed me this. Each time when we fail, we set a wall ourselves between us and our Father when we do not know how much we are loved even in the midst of our failings. We may know about it, but do we really believe He loves you for who you are.
You'll know when you have believed when your love for Him still grows on you at the very moment when you have miss the mark.