Loved Because You Are Known

The afternoon sun exposes every dust mote in the room, just as this hour exposes every flaw you think you've hidden. You are convinced that if they saw the wreckage inside you, every kind word they ever spoke would be revoked.

You wait for them to find out. You brace for the withdrawal of love.

But there is a love that does not operate on your performance. It saw the worst of you before you ever drew breath, and it stayed.

The light does not retreat when the dust settles; it illuminates the mess without flinching. You are not loved because you are clean.

You are loved because you are known. The kindness you received was not a mistake they will correct.

It was the truth they saw in you, even when you couldn't.