I’ve talked a lot on this blog about how a mom’s love is unconditional.
This subject is so fascinating to me because some of the most painful times in my life have been when I’ve tried to earn the love and approval of others. I needed that love without it I felt like my life had no value.
People, children especially, need to know that they are unconditionally loved. If they don’t they will spend their whole lives trying to be someone they aren’t. Knowing that their parents love them like that is crucial. We’ve all seen what happens when parents try to project their dreams on their kids. The child is scared to fail because he or she won’t have their parent’s love anymore.
I have found so much healing through my relationship with God. I have to come to see that my true worth and value is based in Him, and nothing else. But I know that God uses relationships to help us see his love, like the relationship between a parent and child. If someone knows they are loved by their parents, no matter what, he or she can face almost anything in life.
It’s that love that sends a child out into the world confidently, so that he can be who God made Him to be.
That’s why it’s my mission to help parents express this love to their children through my art. Each portrait I do is a tangible expression of an unconditional love.
I want each child to know they are special and valued because they are made in the image of God. Success and accolades are great, but we were not made to put our identity in them. You are loved for who you are, not what you do.