On Getting Out of Bed: The Burden and Gift of Living

by Alan Noble

To love myself I must hope all things. This hope is founded on the promises of God, not on my own ability to fix myself or control my circumstances or solve the problems of the world. My hope is in God’s promise to preserve me, to work all things together for my good, to finish the good work He started in me. And finally, to love myself properly, I must endure all things—including the torments of my own mind. I may tremble at the agony of life. At times I may feel crushed and overwhelmed and undone, but to love God, I must love myself; and to love my neighbor, I must love myself; and to love myself, I must endure. I cannot do this alone, however. I bear, believe, hope, and endure not from my own capacity for love but with the aid of the Holy Spirit and with the comfort and encouragement of my friends. It is only with the aid of others that I can love myself and thereby honor God’s creation.