This poem has been graciously shared by the author, Carlo a Tayler. In this time of isolation it is wonderful to know that we are still deeply loved by our Creator and that we are not alone.

The sun rises over a city filled with skyscrapers, shining long beams of light onto various buildings.
Photo by timJ on Unsplash
Beloved
Be loved
Be still and know that you are loved
By the Lord and creator of all that we can see
By the Jesus who stilled the storm upon the Sea of Galilee
By the spirit who wants to live in us and longs to set us free

I invite you to be still
And be loved
In the busyness of life
In every season, in every storm
In moments of questions
In moments of fear
In moments when everything seems so unclear
Be still and know that you are loved

Beloved
you are loved
Let us Be still and let ourselves be loved
Let us let that love leak into your soul
Into the places that are dry – that have been empty – that have felt like holes
that nothing could ever fill
(I pray)
Be still
and know that you are loved

No matter what fallacy or fear, has been so long whispered in your ear
I hear the Father draw us near and say
Beloved
You are loved

As a prodigal parent delights in the child who returns home

Beloved
Be loved
Be still and let yourselves be loved

By the one who made the stars and flung them in the sky
By the one, who for love, was led to die
By the one who looks me and you in the eye and says I love you
Despite what you have done, what you’ve been shown
Beloved know that you are known and yet still loved

Beloved
Be loved
Be still and know that you are loved
By the one whose very essence is love
The one who first embodied love
The one whose image we bear

Though it might be hard to conceive of or believe,
though it might be astounding, beyond what our minds can wrap themselves around
Around us are wrapped the arms of the creator of the cosmos

this cosmic embrace which finds us, (which fills us) and gives us our place
In a story so much bigger than anything we could ever understand
But that’s the beauty of it – that nothing we could have planned
could ever even come close to the adventure we get to partake in

Let us let these words sink in

Beloved
Be loved
Be still and know that you are loved
And then let us go out and be that love out in the world
Let us embody the love of the one who first embodied love and who gave his life – his broken
body – all for the love of us
We who are broken but beloved
We who are forgiven – let us not forget
And live to give the love we gave no thing to get – a gift
Let us therefore live lives of love
Let us live like the limbs of this (loving) God
For though alone I am but one
Together we are the body of the one who is and always was and always will be
Love
The Living Water
Quenching thirsty souls
Filling holes
And welling up to eternal life
Coursing through our very beings
Alive in us

Beloved
Be loved
And now go out and be love
In the world
Amen

Carlo is wearing a suit, dark-framed glasses and is smiling while he has his arm around his wife Allyson who stands next to him. She is wearing a black dress and is also smiling.
Carlo is a husband, stepdad, and follower of Jesus. He is motivated by a love of life, people, and the potential of art to invite us into stories of hope and redemption. 
As a mental health worker he gets to walk alongside people who are struggling to make sense of their lives amidst difficult experiences and circumstances; supporting them in the process of discovering a life that is meaningful to them. Carlo is also privileged to serve The Meeting House church community in Ottawa by co-leading the music team there with his wonderful wife Allyson, where they aim to facilitate opportunities for people to meet Jesus, who is God, who is Love.