Friend, You Are Beloved (a Poem)

You are not loved because 

you are tall or dark or beautiful. 

You are not loved because 

you are wise or strong or capable. 

You are not loved because 

you can cook well

because your house is clean

or because you are so often on time.

All these things are well and good. 

You are loved because 

you are a unique and 

unrepeatable triumph

sculpted by the Divine Artist. 

You are a living glimmer 

of God’s imagination 

enveloped in flesh. 

And no matter what you do

or do not do

you will be loved. 

And perhaps, 

in pausing to simply glory 

in the gift of your existence,

you’ll find the courage 

to love yourself 

as well.