There was a time I took it all so personally — the silence, the rejection, the cold responses when I had offered warmth.

I wondered if I wasn’t enough. If I was somehow the problem.If maybe, just maybe, I needed to try harder, give more, bend further but healing has gently opened my eyes. How I treat others reflects the condition of my heart.

And how they treat me? 🤔That reveals theirs. My kindness doesn’t disappear because it goes unnoticed. My generosity doesn’t lose its value when it’s not returned. The fruit of the Spirit — love, gentleness, goodness — remains rooted in me, regardless of how others respond.

Jesus’ words are not a transaction, but a transformation. He never promised that others would mirror our love. He simply calls us to love anyway.

We live in a world marred by brokenness, where kindness can feel like weakness and soft hearts are often misunderstood. Still, I’ve learned this: My worth is not measured by someone else's ability — or inability — to honour it. I do not lose value when someone fails to see mine. I do not become less lovable because someone else lacks love to give.

Even when kindness is taken advantage of,even when giving feels like pouring into a sieve, I choose to keep my heart tender because my kindness is mine to keep, and their actions are theirs to own.

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Even when kindness is not returned, you are still radiant. Still worthy. Still deeply loved. Stay tender, dear heart.You're not too much — you're a reflection of God’s mercy in motion. 💜

🖼 How This Image Completes the Devotion:

The rich layers and soft texture speak to the dignity of a tender heart that chooses to remain open even after being wounded. The golden threads that weave through the broken places remind us that our value remains intact — even when overlooked. We are still precious.

🎨 Creative Prompt:

In your journal or art journal, draw or paint a heart wrapped in gold thread — cracked but glowing from within. Around it, write words or Scriptures that remind you of your worth in God’s eyes.

• What does it mean to own your kindness and release others’ responses to God? 🤔

• Write a letter to your younger self — reassuring her that she never had to earn her worth.

  
  

So I whisper this prayer today:

🕊 Prayer of Grace

Lord, teach me to love without losing myself.

Help me to give from a heart rooted in You, not in approval.

Remind me that I carry Your image and nothing anyone does can diminish that truth.

May I continue to walk in love — not because it’s always returned but because You first loved me.

In Jesus’ Name, Amen.