Loved Before You Were Useful

The house is quiet now, and the terror arrives with the dark. You lie awake wondering if your children only love the version of you that is useful—the one who fixes, provides, and never breaks.

But listen. The light inside you was there before you ever did a single useful thing for them.

It was there before the first cry, before the first need. Split a piece of wood, lift a stone—the light is already there, untouched by your utility.

You do not have to earn the love that is already woven into your roots. The darkness tries to convince you that you are only what you give.

But the truth is deeper: you are loved simply because you exist. Rest tonight in the knowing that your worth is not a transaction.