Hi,
My name is Ashley Anne-Marie,
And today I would like to share with you a poem that came to my mind while I was doing my meditation and prayer practice.
Please take a moment now and begin to get comfortable.
You can either sit or lie down in a comfortable position,
And gently let your eyes close as you begin to hear the poem and meditate on its meaning that it may bring to you.
Sometimes during my prayer and meditation practice,
I like to take a moment and just stop and think and reflect on God or Jesus.
I'll pick one and I'll just reflect on who they are,
What are they like,
And I almost always come to just meditating on their love,
Jesus' love for us,
God's love for us,
Us humans.
And after I did that,
I had a poem that just came to my head that brought me some peace,
And I hope it brings you some as well.
I made the stars in the sky,
Grassy valleys and fragrant trees,
Exotic magnificent birds and even the tiny little bees.
I'm the creator of oceans and canyons too,
But still love the world enough to know each and every single one of you.
I'd leave the 99 sheep to find the one that got away.
I'm empathetic to your pain.
For you,
I'd share your burdens every day.
But truly it is precious human beings that I enjoy creating even more.
Please don't ever feel insignificant or alone.
To ease your tender mind,
I'll make this one fact known.
So many wonders in this world I have made,
If only you knew.
After making all of it,
I still believed this world needed someone just like you.
This poem came to me and meant a lot,
Because oftentimes when we're in pain,
We don't stop to look at the bigger picture.
And sometimes I need to stop and look at the stars in the sky,
Or sit in a forest surrounded by trees and realize that I am small in this huge beautiful universe,
This massive universe that's filled with beauty and good things happening all the time.
And I stop,
And I find it very easy to appreciate the beauty in others,
And I find it very easy to appreciate the beauty in nature.
But sometimes I don't always give myself that same kindness.
And this has meaning to me,
Because when I looked at all the beauty in other people,
And I looked at all the beauty in nature around me,
I stopped myself and I realized,
Hey wait a minute.
They are beautiful.
God made them.
God loves them.
They are beautiful.
They do have value.
And so do I,
Just as much,
Not any less.
And I look at nature and I think,
Wow,
God made all this beauty.
And then on a random day,
Random time,
He decided the world needed one of me too.
And that exact concept goes for every single one of us that are alive.
That's why I truly feel in my heart that every single one of us have inherent value.
Inherent value that can never be taken away from anybody.
There is nothing stronger than God.
God decided to create you for a reason.
He decided this huge universe with all the beauties in it needed you.
So please,
Whenever you are in pain,
Whenever you feel low or you are looking down at yourself,
Maybe you're struggling with self-esteem,
It's okay,
But remind yourself,
God made you.
That is all you need.
He loves you.
He made you.
He felt that you were needed here.
And that is everything.
Thank you for listening.
Sending you all love and light.
