“Still, that's the point of love. You love someone despite their flaws.” –Sophie Kinsella

Amidst all the chaos and stress, the world feels like it is forgetting the undeniable power of love. I’ve had to remove myself from the news, social media, and several people. It’s been hard and at times it feels wrong. I’m not used to boundaries, well, I’m not used to placing and maintaining healthy boundaries, but right now it’s needed. I’ve pushed myself to take a few things more seriously and protect myself from what most would consider normal daily things. I’ve gotten some backlash for it because I’ve removed flaws from my world and been working on loving myself and others more intentionally.

It’s been enlightening, though, because I’ve had people come out of the woodwork that love me along with my many flaws. This quote really hit home because I do my very best to love people no matter what and I’m realizing now how important it is for me to receive that same type of love. I guess this quote, Recovery Talks, and the epiphany that I’ve had come together as simply this. We love people despite their flaws, we love people because of their flaws, and we forget too easily that we need the same love. You are worthy of love, no matter what flaws you feel you may have. Don’t deny yourself access to that love.

Love but also be loved, flaws included.

Sarah Deats

Sarah Deats is the Hope Inc. Stories Inspiration Engineer. Her goals are to make a connection with everyone that she can while building community, spreading hope, and sparking change. She believes that while life may not be easy, it is never lived alone.