You don't have to earn being loved

Some people live as if in a permanent exam: they have to perform, please and not fail, because they feel that's the only way they'll be loved. When something goes wrong, it isn't just a mistake: it's proof that they're worthless. A small child doesn't need to deserve his parents' love: they love him because he's their child. With God it's the same. He loves you before you do anything, and he doesn't love you less when you fail. This doesn't do away with effort; it changes its engine. You don't struggle so that you'll be loved, but because you are loved. And whoever struggles out of gratitude can make mistakes, learn and carry on, without every fall becoming a catastrophe.